SF 


ft.  M.    College   Apiary. 


Fred  W.   Mally,    and 
Wilmon  Newell. 


Edward  J.  Wick son 


MAIN  LIBRARY-AGRICULTURE  DEJT. 


BEE 

GLLECT10N 


REPORT 


ON    THE 


A.  &  M.  COLLEGE  APIAET. 


TOGETHER  WITH    PRACTICAL    SUGGESTIONS    IN 

MODERN   METHODS   OF    BEE  KEEPING  AS 

APPLIED    TO    TEXAS    CONDITIONS. 


FRED.  W.  MALLY, 

PROFESSOR  OF  ENTOMOLOGY, 


WILMON  NEWELL, 

ASSISTANT. 


AUTHORIZED    BY    THE    TWENTY-SEVENTH    LEGISLATURE. 


AUSTIN,  TEXAS: 

VON    BOECKMANN,   SCHUTZE  &  CO.,  STATE  PRINTERS, 
1902. 


REPORT 


ON    THE 


A.  &  M.  COLLEGE  APIAET. 


TOGETHER    WITH    PRACTICAL    SUGGESTIONS  IN 

MODERN  METHODS    OF    BEE    KEEPING    AS 

APPLIED    TO    TEXAS    CONDITIONS. 


FRED.  W.  MALLY, 

PROFESSOR  OF  ENTOMOLOGY, 


WILMON  NEWELL, 

ASSISTANT. 


AUTHORIZED    BY    THE    TWENTY-SEVENTH    LEGISLATURE. 


AUSTIN,  TEXAS: 

VON   BOECKMANN,   SCHUTZE  &  CO.,   STATE    PRINTERS. 

1902. 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


/• 


.. 


LETTERS  OF  SUBMITTAL. 


Dr.  David  F.  Houston,  President,  College  Station,  Texas. 

DEAR  SIR  :  Herewith  I  beg  to  submit  a  report  upon  the  work  accom- 
plished with  the  Apiary  at  the  College  the  past  six  months,  since  the 
establishment  of  the  same  this  season.  The  year  thus  far  has  been  a  most 
unfavorable  one  for  surplus  honey  production  and  the  colonies  have  been 
brought  in  and  established  and  bred  up  to  a  strong  working  force  under 
the  greatest  difficulties. 

Mr.  Wilmon  Newell  was  selected  as  Assistant  Entomologist  in  Febru- 
ary and  was  given  the  immediate  charge  of  the  Apiary  and  its  care  and 
development  preparatory  to  experimental  work.  Much  preliminary  work 
has  been  done  under  my  direction  and  the  basis  for  much  valuable  work 
in  the  future  prepared.  Some  important  suggestions  have  already  devel- 
oped from  the  work  upon  honey  plants  and  the  studies  made  concerning 
them  the  past  season.  Then,  too,  it  has  been  found  that  there  is  a  press- 
ing demand  for  some  kind  of  ready  reference  and  guide  for  the  farmers, 
truck  growers,  and  fruit  growers,  who  have  a  few  colonies,  but  who  are 
not  familiar  with  up-to-date  methods.  For  all  of  these  reasons  I  have 
asked  Mr.  Newell  to  prepare  a  complete  report  covering  many  of  the 
serious  difficulties  encountered.  This  will  be  of  great  value  to  the  rural 
bee  keepers  of  the  State.  His  report  has  been  prepared  with  great  care, 
and  I  take  pleasure  in  submitting  the  same  herewith  and  recommending 
it  for  publication  as  a  portion  of  my  annual  report. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

FRED.  W.  MALLY, 
Professor  of  Entomology, 
Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College. 

Submitted  August  30,  1902. 


Prof.  Fred.  W.  Molly,  Entomologist,  College  Station,  Texas. 

DEAR  SIR:  In  compliance  with  your  instructions,  I  beg  to  submit 
herewith  a  report  upon  the  Experimental  Apiary,  located  at  the  Agricul- 
tural and  Mechanical  College,  which  was  created  by  act  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  Legislature. 

The  first  part  of  this  report  deals  particularly  with  the  Experimental 
Apiary,  the  expenditures  made  in  establishing  same,  and  the  work  accom- 


4  LETTERS  OF  SUBMITTAL. 

plished  up  to  September  1,  1902.  As  directed  by  you,  this  report  con- 
tains also  a  summary  of  the  studies  made  relative  to  the  honey  producing 
flora  of  Central  Texas,  and  experiments  conducted  with  cultivated  honey 
plants,  and  the  results  of  same.  A  synopsis,  of  experiments  under  way, 
and  contemplated  for  future  work,  is  also  given. 

The  second  part  of  this  report  consists  of  notes  and  practical  sugges- 
tions upon  modern  and  successful  methods  of  bee  keeping,  for  the  guid- 
ance of  farmers,  fruit  growers,  and  others  who  are  interested  in  the  indus- 
try of  bee  keeping  in  a  small  way,  and  as  a  guide  for  those  desiring  to 
enter  this  industry. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

WILMON  NEWELL, 

Assistant  Entomologist. 
August  30,  1902. 


CONTENTS. 


Acknowledgment -.  7 

Report  on  the  Experimental  Apiary 9 

Bee  Keeping :.  .  . 15 

Introduction    15 

Food  value  of  honey 16 

Profit  in  bee  keeping 17 

Races  of  bees 18 

Black,  or  German  bees 18 

Carniolans   19 

Cyprians , 19 

Holy  Lands 20 

Italians    20 

Golden  Italians 21 

Hybrids    21 

How  to  secure  bees ...... 22 

Life  and  habits  of  the  bee 22 

Hives    26 

Other  apparatus 27 

How  to  open  a  hive 28 

Location  of  hives  and  apiary .  30 

Apparatus  necessary  for  more  extensive  work 31 

Transferring 33 

Robbing    34 

Preparation  of  bees  for  winter 34 

Feeding 34 

The  honey  flow 35 

Supers 36 

Cleanliness 38 

Preparing  honey  for  market 38 

Grading  rules   38 

Standard  packages 40 

Marketing  honey 40 

Bees  wax 40 

Swarming 41 

Prevention  and  control  of  swarming 44 

Queen  rearing 46 

Enemies  of  bees 47 

Diseases    47 

Ants    49 

Other  insects 50 

Birds  and  other  enemies 50 

Honey  plants 51 

Education 52 

Supplies    53 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page. 

Plate  I.     Experimental  apiary  at  A.  and  M.  College Frontispiece 

Plate  II.     Worker,  queen  and  drone 23 

Fig.     1.     Queen's  egg  24 

Fig.     2.     Ten  frame  dove-tailed  hive 25 

Fig.     3.     Hoffman  self-spacing  frames 25 

Fig.     4.     Method  of  inserting  foundation 26 

Fig.     5.     Foundation  roller    26 

Fig.     6.     Bee-veil 27 

Fig.     7.     Corneil  smoker  27 

Fig.     8.     Handling  frames — first  position 29 

Fig.     9.     Handling  frames — second  position 29 

Fig.  10.     Hive  stand 30 

Fig.  11.     Combined  bottom  board  and  hive  stand 30 

Fig.  12.     Two-frame  honey  extractor 32 

Fig.  13.     Bingham  honey  knife 32 

Fig.  14.     Doolittle  solar  wax  extractor 32 

Fig.  15.     Porter  bee  escape 32 

Fig.  16.     Division  board  feeder 35 

Fig.  1 7.     Bee- way  section    36 

Fig.  18.     Hoffman  shallow  extracting  frame 36 

Fig.  19.     Shipping  case  for  sections 39 

Fig.  20.     Shipping  case  for  extracted  honey 39 

Fig.  21.     Root-German  steam  wax  press 41 

Fig.  22.     Queen  cells 42 

Fig.  23.     Manum's  swarm  catcher 43 

Fig.  24.     Alley  queen  and  drone  trap 45 

Fig.  25.     Entrance  guard 45 

Fig.  26.     Japanese  buckwheat    51 


ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 


The  Department  of  Entomology  wishes  to  acknowledge  the  following 
favors  and  assistance  given  in  the  establishment  of  the  Experimental 
Apiary  at  the  College,  as  well  as  in  the  preparation  of  the  appended  bul- 
letin : 

A.  I.  Root  Co.,  Medina,  Ohio,  special  discounts  and  prices  on  apparatus 
necessary  in  establishing  the  Apiary,  .as  well  as  the  loan  of  the  greater 
number  of  cuts  used  in  this  publication. 

W.  M.  Crook,  Cresson,  Texas,  one  colony  of  bees. 

Hyde  Bee  Co.,  Floresville,  Texas,  one  tested  queen. 

W.  0.  Victor,  Wharton,  Texas,  two  tested  queens. 

J.  W.  Ross,  Velasco;  T.  J.  Adams,  Velasco;  G.  F.  Davidson,  Flores- 
ville; W.  H.  Laws,  Beeville;  Louis  H.  Scholl,  Hunter;  J.  K.  Hill, 
Uvalde;  and  many  other  prominent  bee  keepers  throughout  the  State, 
have  rendered  valuable  assistance  in  the  work  of  compiling  data  relative 
to  the  bee  and  honey  statistics  of  the  State,  as  well  as  in  the  study  of  the 
native  honey-producing  flora  of  their  localities. 

Throughout  this  report,  quotations  have  been  made  from  various  au- 
thorities, credit  for  which  is  given  as  these  quotations  appear  in  the  text. 


REPORT  UPON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  APIARY 
AT  THE  AGRICULTURAL  AND  ME- 
CHANICAL COLLEGE. 

FRED.  W.  MALLY  AND  WILMON  NEWELL. 


The  Twenty-seventh  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Texas  appropriated 
the  sum  of  $750  for  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  an  experi- 
mental apiary  at  the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  giving  instruction  in  bee  culture  to  the  students  of  that  institu- 
tion, and  for  investigating  such  problems  of  bee  keeping  in  Texas  as 
would  benefit  those  engaged  in  this  industry.  The  task  of  establishing 
and  maintaining  this  apiary  was  assigned  to  the  Department  of  Ento- 
mology. Of  the  $750,  $500  was  appropriated  for  use  during  the  year 
ending  September  1,  1902.  Owing  to  inability  to  secure  competent 
assistance  for  this  department,  the  establishment  of  the  Experimental 
Apiary  was  not  begun  until  March  1,  1902.  Even  then,  owing  to  a  rush 
of  orders  at  the  factories,  it  was  impossible  to  secure  the  necessary  sup- 
plies for  this  work  until  about  May  10th.  The  forepart  of  the  season  of 
1902  was,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  College,  exceedingly  dry,  and  hence  unfa- 
vorable for  the  best  success  in  the  breeding  and  care,  of  the  bees,  as  well 
as  making  it  impossible  to  get  the  best  results  in  the  experimental  work 
with  cultivated  honey  plants.  In  all  its  phases,  the  work  has  been  sub- 
ject to  unavoidable  and  vexatious  delays. 

One  of  the  first  things  done  was  to  enclose  a  tract  of  land  of  about  ten 
acres  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  proper  place  for  the  honey  house  and 
apiary,  as  well  as  for  sufficient  ground  for  carrying  on  experiments  with 
honey-producing  plants.  The  tract  enclosed  has  running  through  it  a 
fine  wooded  ravine,  and  also  encloses  a  natural  grove,  making  a  most 
ideal  location  for  an  apiary.  In  addition  to  this,  about  six  acres  of 
ground,  which  were  formerly  in  pasture,  have  been  broken  and  put  in 
condition  for  experimental  work. 

The  sum  of  $500  available  for  the  first  year's  work  has  been  expended 
as  follows : 

Bees  and  queens $  33  88 

Freight  and  express 46  76 

Bee  hives  and  apparatus : 186  18 

Books  and  technical  magazines 11  95 

Seed  of  honey-producing  plants 6  31 

Lumber  and  fixtures  for  honey  house 149  02 

Tools 53  25 

Incidental  expenses 12  65 

Total..  $500  00 


10  A!  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY. 

These  expenditures  were  for  the  raw  material  in  the  shape  of  lumber 
for  the  honey  house,  hives  and  supplies  knocked  down,  etc.  The  honey 
house,  including  a  well-equipped  workshop,  has  been  built,  painted  and 
thoroughly  equipped,  and  all  hives,  supers,  and  other  apparatus  put 
together  and  painted  ready  for  instant  use.  In  addition  to  this  the  bees 
purchased,  consisting  of  six  colonies  in  all,  together  with  one  colony 
kindly  donated  by  Mr.  W.  M.  Crook,  of  Cresson,  Texas,  have  been  in- 
creased to  twenty-one  colonies,  and  a  number  of  pure  Italian  queens  for 
these  new  colonies  have  been  reared.  It  will  be  seen  that  this  would 
result  in  a  marked  increase  in  the  valuation.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
present  inventory  (September  1,  1902)  shows  a  cash  valuation  of 
$729.10,  or  an  increase  in  value  of  $229.10  between  March  1  and  Sep- 
tember 1,  1902." 

The  outfit  of  supplies  purchased  includes  nearly  all  patterns  or  models 
of  hives,  supers,  frames,  and  sections  of  standard  manufacture  which  are 
in  common  use  among  bee  keepers.  These  various  models  are  being  care- 
fully tested  to  determine  their  relative  value  under  Texas  conditions,  for 
such  qualities  as  protection  from  heat,  honey-storing  facilities,  etc. 

As  rapidly  as  possible  the  bees  in  this  apiary  are  being  bred  to  the 
highest  possible  standard  of  excellence,  both  by  purchase  and  by  impor- 
tation of  the  best  three-banded  Italian  queens,  and  by  careful  selection  of 
drone  mothers  when  breeding,  and  by  carefully  selecting  only  the  best 
queens  in  the  yard  for  breeding  purposes.  Of  each  colony  a  careful  rec- 
ord is  kept  which  shows  the  qualities  of  that  colony  relative  to  honey- 
gathering  ability,  productiveness,  vitality,  docility,  purity,  comb-build- 
ing ability,  and  ability  to  withstand  drouth  and  unfavorable  conditions. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Texas  Bee  Keepers7  Association,  held  at 
the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  in  conjunction  with  the  Farm- 
ers' Congress  July  16  and  17,  1902,  by  request  of  the  entomologist,  the 
Association  appointed  a  special  committee  to  investigate  thoroughly  this 
experimental  apiary.  The  Committee  reported  as  follows: 

"Your  committee  has  investigated  the  apiary  upon  the  College  grounds 
and  has  found  the  bees  in  good  and  healthy  condition,  a  very  neat  honey 
house  and  in  it  all  necessary  implements  for  the  apiary.  Our  opinion 
is  that  the  small  sum  of  money  at  the  command  of  Prof.  Mally  was 
invested  in  a  very  proper  way  for  the  purpose  of  creating  the  apiary,  the 
object  of  which  is  to  serve  as  a  medium  of  instruction  to  the  students  of 
the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College.  Especially  were  we  pleased 
with  the  orderly  and  systematic  arrangement  of  the  whole.  We  hereby 
recommend  that  more  money  be  expended  upon  this  apiary,  so  that  it 
will  contain  at  least  fifty  colonies  and  the  necessary  implements,  as  we 
think  the  present  number  is  not  sufficient  for  the  proper  carrying  on  of 
experiments. 

(Signed)  "L.  STACHELHAUSEN, 

"FRANK  L.  ATEN, 
"MRS.  C.  E.  WEST, 

"Committee." 

It  is  proposed,  during  the  coming  year,  to  make  a  study  of  the  different 
strains  or  races  of  bees.  In  Texas  at  the  present  time  there  are  in  use  by 
the  various  bee  keepers  the  races  known,  respectively,  as  Three-banded 
Italians,  Golden  Italians,  Cyprians,  Carniolans,  Holy  Lands,  and  the 


A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY.  11 

common  Black  or  German  bee.  It  is  proposed  to  determine  as  nearly  as 
possible  the  comparative  length  of  life  of  the  bees  in  these  different  races. 
This  will  be  of  immense  value,  especially  if  it  be  shown  that  any  one  race 
of  bees  be  longer  lived  than  another.  Other  things  being  equal.,  that  race 
having  the  longest  life  will  be  best  enabled  to  withstand  the  severe 
drouths  which  at  times  afflict  many  of  the  very  best  honey-producing  sec- 
tions of  the  State.  The  main  drawback  to  these  honey-producing  sections 
lies  in  the  fact  that  during  a  drouth  the  colonies  become  weakened. 
When  the  honey  flow  again  starts,  if  the  bees  have  not  perished  in  the 
meantime,  a  considerable  time  is  required  for  them  to  breed  up  to  a  prof- 
itable working  strength,  during  which  time  much  honey  remains  in  the 
flowers  ungathered  and  constitutes  a  heavy  loss.  To  overcome  this  is  one 
of  the  problems  to  be  solved,  and  it  is  proposed  by  experiment  to  deter- 
mine the  race  or  races  of  bees  best  adapted  to  such  conditions.  In  addi- 
tion to  this  an  attempt  is  being  made  to  find  and  cultivate  some  honey 
plant,  which  during  such  dry  seasons  will  yield  sufficient  honey  to  keep 
up  the  strength  of  the  colonies  until  the  following  honey  flow.  With  this 
object  in  view,  one  of  the  first  lines  of  investigation  inaugurated  by  this 
department  was  that  of  making  a  close  and  critical  study  of  the  native 
honey  plants  of  Texas.  To  complete  such  a  study  will,  of  course,  require 
several  years,  but  the  work  is  now  being  carried  on  as  rapidly  as  the  time 
and  money  at  command  will  permit.  At  the  outset,  realizing  the  impor- 
tance of  finding  some  drouth-resistant  plant  worthy  of  cultivation  for 
honey,  varieties  amounting  to  forty  different  kinds  and  species  were  sown 
each  month  during  the  season,  and  their  adaptability  to  Texas  climates 
and  soils,  as  well  as  their  honey-producing  qualities,  carefully  noted. 
The  greater  number  of  these  were  found  unable  to  withstand  the  drouth, 
and  therefore  not  adapted  to  the  purpose.  Those  which  were  partial  or 
total  failures  were  as  follows :  Astragalus  sinicus,  American  varieties  of 
buckwheat,  Alsike,  Sweet,  Crimson,  Japan,  Mammoth  Ked,  Eed,  Sand, 
Suckling,  and  White  Clovers,  Yellow  Trefoil,  Japanese  Delchos,  Euphor- 
bia marginata,  E.  Heterophylla,  Asdepias  tuberosa,  German  Rape,  Eng- 
lish Eape,  Soja  Bean,  Velvet  Bean,  Vicia  sativa  and  Vica  villosa.  Austra- 
lian Salt  Bush  was  found  to  grow  well  and  to  withstand  the  drouth,  but 
it  did  not,  under  the  prevailing  conditions,  yield  honey.  It  would  doubt- 
less form  a  valuable  plant  for  grazing  and  for  forage,  especially  in  those 
sections  where  the  soils  contain  a  small  or  medium  amount  of  alkali.  Of 
all  plants  tested,  Japanese  buckwheat  gave  the  best  results.  With 
medium  or  even  poor  soil,  and  a  very  small  amount  of  moisture,  this 
plant  can  be  depended  upon  to  begin  blooming  thirty  days  after  planting 
and  will  continue  to  bloom  for  thirty  days,  at  the  end  of  which  time  the 
seed  is  ready  to  gather.  It  will  be  seen  that  it  is  a  very  easy  matter  to 
regulate  the  time  of  sowing,  so  that  a  honey  flow  will  be  had  from  this 
plant  at  the  beginning  of  a  dearth  of  natural  forage  for  the  bees.  In 
addition  to  its  value  as  a  honey  producer,  the  seed  of  this  plant  is  made 
into  a  flour  which  produces,  among  other  things,  fine  cakes,  highly 
esteemed  in  the  buckwheat  regions  of  the  North.  Japanese  buckwheat 
thrives  best  when  drilled  in  rows  about  three  feet  apart,  and  cultivated 
during  growth.  The  seed  brings  from  $1.00  to  $1.50  per  bushel.  In  case 
seed  is  not  desired  the  buckwheat  can  be  cut  and  cured  as  is  other  hay, 
and  is  found  to  make  valuable  feed  for  farm  animals.  If  grown  more 
extensively  there  is  no  doubt  that  such  hay  would  bring  a  good  price  in 


12  A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY. 

the  open  markets:  Continued  experiments  with  this  plant  showed  that 
it  is  possible  for  the  season  to  become  sufficiently  dry  during  August  to 
retard  its  growth  and  prevent  its  making  seed.  It  is,  however,  as  drouth 
resistant  as  any  of  our  cultivated  crops,  cotton  not  excepted.  Three  vari- 
eties of  cowpeas,  i.  e.,  the  Wonderful,  Clay,  and  Speckled,  have  been 
tested.  The  Speckled  cowpea  gave  the  best  results.  When  the  native 
honey  plants  had  entirely  ceased  yielding  nectar  the  bees  continued  to 
work  heavily  upon  the  cowpeas  and  secured  ample  honey  therefrom  to 
continue  brood  rearing,  despite  the  fact  that  comparatively  only  a  small 
acreage  of  cowpeas  was  available.  The  value  of  the  cowpea  as  a  forage 
plant  and  soil  renovator  is  too  well  known  to  need  discussion  here.  It 
has  been  conclusively  demonstrated  by  our  most  progressive  farmers  that 
the  cowpea  is  one  of  our  most  valuable  farm  crops.  Its  honey  yield, 
therefore,  is  an  absolute  gain.  The  clovers,  as  above  stated,  were  not 
found  able  to  flourish  under  the  conditions  of  soil  and  drouth  existing  in 
Central  Texas.  By  way  of  explanation,  however,  it  may  be  said  that  this 
department  has  thus  far  tested  alfalfa  only  on  the  upland  soils  of  the 
"timber  belt."  On  such  soils  alfalfa  was  found  to  grow  sparingly  but 
not  luxuriantly  enough  for  either  forage  or  honey.  On  irrigated  lands  its 
value  both  for  forage  and  honey  is  undoubted.  On  rich  bottom  lands, 
such  as  prevail  along  the  Brazos  river,  it  is  found  to  grow  well,  but  its 
honey-producing  qualities  under  these  conditions  have  not  as  yet  been 
tested.  Giant  Beggarweed  (Desmodium  tortuosum)  was  found  to  grow 
well,  but  did  not  yield  honey  as  was  expected.  Black  Mustard,  Mignon- 
ette and  Borage  gave  good  results.  With  the  varieties  which  have 
grown  favorably,  still  further  experimental  work  will  be  done.  About 
thirty  additional  honey  plants,  as  yet  not  cultivated  in  Texas,  have  been 
secured  from  the  North  and  East,  and  will  also  be  tested.  After  careful 
tests  have  been  made  at  the  College  with  these  various  honey-producing 
plants,  seeds  of  those  found  to  be  worthy  of  cultivation  will  be  distrib- 
uted free  to  bee  keepers  in  different  sections  of  the  State,  to  be  tested  by 
them  in  the  soils  and  conditions  prevailing  in  their  localities. 

It  seems  likely  that  if  a  perfect  drouth-resistant  honey  plant  is  to  be 
had,  it  will  eventually  be  found  in  some  of  the  arid  portions  of  tile  coun- 
try, such  as  Western  Texas,  Mexico,  or  Arizona.  For  a  long  time  it  has 
been  the  ambition  of  bee  keepers  everywhere  to  secure  some  plant  which 
could  be  profitably  cultivated  for  surplus  honey.  In  Southwest  Texas 
are  many  plants,  such  as  Guajilla  and  Cat-claw,  which  at  times  give  an 
enormous  yield  of  honey.  Therefore,  an  investigation  of  such  plants 
with  a  view  to  testing  them  under  cultivation  has  been  taken  up. 

In  the  manipulation  of  hives  and  colonies,  much  has  been  learned  the 
past  few  years,  which  has  enabled  the  progressive  bee  keeper  to  increase 
and  often  double  his  honey  production.  This  manipulation  is  as  yet  only 
partially  developed  and  further  studies  along  this  line  with  a  view  to 
increasing  present  honey  yields  in  Texas  is  being  taken  up. 

Queen  rearing,  a  more  specialized  branch  of  bee  keeping,  is  still  an 
industry  in  its  infancy,  and  so  far  as  time  will  permit,  studies  along  this 
line  and  improvements  upon  present  methods  are  being  planned. 

Texas  excels  every  other  State  in  her  honey  production,  yet  to  one 
who  has  studied  the  situation  and  the  vast  territory  and  vegetation 
of  this  State,  it  is  evident  that  as  yet  Texas  does  not  produce  one-tenth 
the  honey  which  it  might  through  proper  management  and  further  devel- 


A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY.  13 

opment.  A  careful  estimate  shows  also  that  at  least  90  per  cent,  of  the 
bee  keepers  of  the  State  are  not  practicing  up-to-date  or  modem  methods 
of  bee  keeping,  thereby  getting  less  than  one-half  of  the  possible  amount 
of  honey  from  the  colonies  already  on  hand. 

Expert  bee  keepers  find  it  very  difficult  to  secure  competent  labor  in 
their  apiaries.  For  the  purpose  of  supplying  this  want,  and  for  educating 
the  bee  keepers  and  farmers  in  general,  a  complete  set  of  apparatus  has 
been  provided  at  the  College  for  giving  instruction,  not  only  to  students 
of  the  institution,  but  to  such  bee  keepers  and  farmers  at  large  as  may 
desire  to  acquaint  themselves  with  modern  methods  or  increase  their 
present  working  knowledge  along  apicultural  lines. 

Some  of  the  possibilities  of  honey  production  in  Texas  may  be  better 
understood  from  a  study  of  Uvalde  county,  which  is  practically  the  only 
county  in  which  bee  keeping  has  been  developed  to  anything  like  its  pos- 
sible extent.  In  this  country  and  immediately  adjoining,  according  to 
Mr.  J.  K.  Hill,  of  Uvalde,  there  are  located  about  fifteen  thousand  col- 
onies of  bees,  representing,  with  apparatus  and  fixtures  used  in  their 
care,  an  investment  of  at  least  $120,000.  In  average  seasons,  under  com- 
petent management,  these  colonies  yield  from  100  to  220  pounds  of  honey 
each.  Aside  from  the  honey  sold  and  consumed  locally,  there  is  shipped 
from  Uvalde  annually  an  average  of  546,000  pounds,  representing  from 
$54,000  to  $60,000.  There  are  in  Southwest  Texas  at  least  thirty  coun- 
ties that  would,  if  properly  developed,  equal  or  exceed  this  yield.  In 
addition  to  this  there  is  valuable  honey-producing  territory  along  the 
Colorado,  Guadalupe,  Brazos,  Trinity  and  Sabine  rivers  that  is  as  yet 
almost  totally  unoccupied.  The  entire  East  Texas  territory,  some  parts 
of  North  Texas,  as  also  the  timber  belts,  are  promising  for  future  devel- 
opment. 

Nor  should  we  be  content  with  the  money  value  of  the  wax  and  honey 
produced  in  the  State,  or  that  money  represents  the  value  of  bee  culture 
to  the  commonwealth  at  large.  He  who  would  raise  fruits  of  any  descrip- 
tion must  depend  upon  insects  for  pollenation  of  the  fruit  bloom.  While 
there  are  many  native  insects  that  take  part  in  this  work,  there  are  none 
which  do  it  as  rapidly  or  effectually  as  the  honey  bee.  It  has  long  since 
been  demonstrated  that  it  is  to  the  interest  of  the  fruit  grower  to  make 
conditions  as  favorable  as  possible  for  the  bees  and  bee  keepers  in  his 
locality.  The  service  rendered  to  the  fruit  industry,  and  the  greatly 
increased  fruit  production  resulting  therefrom  cannot  be  estimated  in 
dollars  and  cents.  The  idea,  prevalent  in  some  localities,  that  bees  will 
injure  growing  or  ripening  fruits,  is  entirely  without  foundation.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  mouth  parts  and  honey-gathering  apparatus  of  the 
bee  are  of  such  a  nature  that  puncturing  or  biting  the  skin  of  any  fruit, 
no  matter  how  tender,  is  an  absolute  impossibility.  When  fruit  has  been 
damaged  from  any  cause,  the  bees  will  frequently  be  seen  sipping  up  the 
juice  that  exudes,  and  this  has  doubtless  given  origin  to  the  popular  fal- 
lacy mentioned  above.  In  Central  Texas  the  growing  of  alfalfa  is  being 
recognized  as  an  important  industry, '  and  in  the  development  of  the 
State  it  is  certain  that  many  localities  peculiarly  adapted  to  this  plant 
will  be  devoted  largely  or  exclusively  to  its  culture.  Alfalfa  cannot  be 
raised  without  seed,  and  alfalfa  seed  cannot  be  produced  unless  the  honey 
bee  is  present  to  fertilize  the  alfalfa  blossoms.  Thus  we  see  that  what 
in  the  future  promises  to  be  a  most  important  and  extensive  industry,  as 


14  A.    AND    M.    COJLLEGE   APIARY. 

it  is  already  in  parts  of  Colorado  and  other  Western  States,  is 
dependent  upon  the  bee  and  the  bee  keeper.  In  considering  the  value  of 
the  bee  keeping  industry  to  the  commercial  interests  of  the  State,  these 
points  should  not  be  overlooked. 

In  short,  this  industry  in  Texas  is  comparatively  in  its  infancy,  and 
the  amount  of  popular  educating  which  should  be  done,  and  investiga- 
tions which  should  be  made,  are  practically  unlimited.  It  is  also  assured 
that  careful  investigation  along  bee  keeping  lines  will  yield  as  great 
returns  as  any  other  line  of  experimental  work  in  agriculture. 

In  the  previous  pages,  mention  has  been  made  of  the  large  number  of 
people  in  the  State  who  are  at  present  not  familiar  with  modern  bee  keep- 
ing methods.  It  is  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  few  practical  sugges- 
tions to  such,  that  the  author  begs  to  append  hereto  a  brief  treatise  on 
bee  keeping.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  make  this  a  text-book,  or 
even  a  bulletin  or  manual  for  the  experienced  bee  keeper  or  specialist. 
It  is  rather  for  the  small  bee  keeper  or  the  farmer  with  a  few  colonies — 
in  box  hives  perhaps — who  is  anxious  for  information  regarding  his  lit- 
tle workers,  that  these  paragraphs  are  appended. 


A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY.  IS 

BEE  KEEPING. 


A  BRIEF  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  METHODS  AND  APPARA- 
TUS  USED  IN  SUCCESSFUL  BEE  CULTURE. 


INTRODUCTION. 

As  stated  in  the  above  report  on  the  Experimental  Apiary  at  the  Agri- 
cultural and  Mechanical  College,  there  is  a  large  call  for  reliable  informa- 
tion from  farmers,  fruit  growers,  and  others  who  are  keeping  bees  in  a 
small  way,  also  from  those  who  have  a  desire  to  enter  this  interesting 
and  usually  profitable  industry.  As  no  publication  has  heretofore  been 
available  for  distribution  in  response  to  this  call  for  information  on 
the  subject,  it  is  here  proposed  to  give  a  brief  description  of  the  princi- 
pal tools,  hives,  and  other  apparatus  used  in  modern  bee  keeping,  and  a 
brief  discussion  of  their  uses. 

In  almost  any  locality  of  the  State  may  be  seen  in  many  of  the  door- 
yards  a  few  "bee-gums"  or  box  hives,  as  they  are  popularly  called.  These 
are  no  more  nor  less  than  upright  boxes,  about  twelve  inches  square  and 
from  one  to  three  feet  in  height.  In  each  of  these  will  be  found  dom- 
iciled a  colony  of  bees,  with  the  earth  for  a  floor,  and  a  few  auger  holes 
for  doors.  There  is  no  way  of  examining  them  or  ascertaining  the  con- 
dition of  the  colony  without  first  making  a  determined  attack  with 
hammer  and  cold  chisel  in  order  to  remove  the  top  of  the  box -hive.  This 
done,  a  mass  of  combs,  usually  crooked,  irregular  and  promiscuously 
attached  to  the  walls,  greets  the  eye.  The  brood  chamber,  in  which  will 
be  found  the  queen,  the  young  bees  or  larvae,  and  in  which  the  household 
work  of  the  hive  is  carried  on,  is  in  the  lowest  part  of  the  hive.  To 
reach  this,  one  must  cut  out  the  combs  in  the  upper  part,  which 
results  in  the  honey  flowing  down  over  the  bees  below,  and  fre- 
quently in  severe  mashing  and  breaking  of  the  brood  combs  themselves. 
Once  opened,  the  combs  cannot  be  replaced  and  the  inhabitants  must 
right  matters  as  best  they  can,  often  requiring  for  them  weeks  or  even 
months  of  time  and  labor.  In  many  cases  the  result  of  "robbing,"  as 
this  process  is  called,  is  to  so  weaken  the  colony  that  the  wax-moth 
gains  access  to  the  hive  and  deposits  eggs,  which  later  hatch  into 
"worms,"  or  larvae,  that  destroy  comb  and  honey  so  rapidly  that  the  col- 
ony in  a  short  time  dies  out.  The  owner  has  no  means  of  assisting  the 
bees  in  their  battle  against  the  "worms"  and  the  result  is  that  the  latter 
win  the  battle.  In  a  southern  climate,  such  as  prevails  in  Texas,  the 
wax-moth  is  peculiarly  abundant,  and  its  growth  and  reproduction  is 
rapid.  In  many  localities  its  ravages  have  been  so  severe  that  it  has 
destroyed  more  "than  the  natural  increase  of  the  bees  resulting  from 
swarming.  The  author  recently  asked  a  bee  keeper  how  many  colonies 
he  had.  Reply :  "Seventeen  in  box  hives.  *  *  *  Had  sixteen  three 
years  ago.  *  *  *  Worms  killed  them  out.  *  *  *  Think  I  have 
done  well."  The  natural  increase  from  sixteen  colonies  in  three  years 


16  A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY. 

would  under  average  conditions  amount  to  no  less  than  128  colonies  at 
the  lowest  calculation.  Here,  then,  is.  a  loss  of  111  colonies  due  to  the 
wax-moth,  or  a  loss  of  69.3  per  cent.,  as  compared  to  the  original  sixteen 
colonies.  The  use  of  modern  bee  keeping  methods  and  frame  hives 
disposes  of  the  wax-moth.  Further  argument  in  favor  of  the  frame 
hive,  or  "patent  gum/'  and  in  favor  of  .intelligent,  management  is 
unnecessary.  The  fact  that  any  man  or  woman  of  average  intelligence 
can  with  a  little  study  of  literature  easily  available,  and  with  a  small 
expenditure  of  money,  install  the  proper  apparatus  and  conduct  bee  keep- 
Ing  in  a  profitable  way,  is  assurance  that  there  is  no  possible  excuse  for 
the  continued  existence  of  the  box  hive.  With  the  latter  the  farmer  con- 
siders himself  lucky  if  he  gets  an  average  of  fifteen  pounds  of  honey  per 
year  from  each  colony.  With  frame  hives  the  experienced  and  enlight- 
ened bee  keeper  considers  himself  unlucky  if  he  does  not  get  an  average 
of  at  least  forty  pounds  per  colony.  Yields  of  120  pounds  per  colony 
on  an  average  are  not  unusual  in  certain  localities,  and  individual  col- 
onies have  produced  as  high  as  600  pounds  in  a  single  year.  It  will  thus 
be  seen  that  with  antiquated  methods  the  best  results  cannot  be  obtained. 
With  bees  as  with  other  farm  stock,  intelligent  management  and  proper 
accommodations  must  be  provided  in  order  to  secure  profitable  returns. 
This  does  not  necessarily  mean  that  a  large  amount  of  capital  must  be 
invested.  Ten  dollars  properly  expended  will  provide  everything  neces- 
sary for.  one  to  begin  intelligent  bee  keeping  with  the  best  of  hives  and 
supplies.  Nor  is  a  previous  knowledge  of  the  industry  necessary  for  the 
beginner.  The  great  majority  of  the  successful  bee  keepers  of  today  were 
without  instruction  of  any  kind  at  the  outset  and  by  study  of  such  liter- 
ature as  they  could  obtain,  and  more  especially  by  a  careful  study  of  the 
bees  themselves  and  their  habits,  they  have  met  with  success  and  profit. 

Every  farmer  should  have  at  least  a  few  colonies  of  bees.  Almost  any 
locality  in  the  State  of  Texas  will  support  a  small  number  of  colonies, 
even  though  that  locality  may  not  be  adapted  to  the  industry  on  an  exten- 
sive scale.  Many  towns  and  cities  afford  a  profitable  location  for  a  few 
colonies.  Only  a  small  amount  of  room  is  needed  for  the  hives,  and  the 
cultivated  and  ornamental  plants,  as  well  as  the  flower  gardens  found  in 
the  typical  town  or  city,  afford  a  no  inconsiderable  source  of  honey. 
The  keeping  of  bees  also  affords  a  pleasant  recreation  for  the  business  or 
professional  man.  The  taste  for  honey  and  its  value  as  a  table  delicacy 
are  known  to  all.  As  a  sweet  its  purity  cannot  be  approached  by  any 
sugar  or  syrup.  Honey  is  composed  for  the  most  part  of  two  sugars,  lev- 
ulose  and  dextrose,  which  are  considered  as  healthy  as  any  other  form 
of  sweet.  The  fact  that  honey  comes  direct  from  the  bees,  without  being 
exposed  to  the  contamination  incident  to  factories,  transportation,  etc., 
shows  its  undoubted  purity  and  cleanliness. 

FOOD  VALUE  OF  HONEY. 

Relative  to  the  healthfulness  and  food  value  of  honey  we  take  trom  a 
booklet  entitled  "Food  Value  of  Honey,"  published  by  the  A.  I.  Eoot  Co., 
of  Medina,  Ohio,  the  following : 

Dr.  C.  C.  Miller  says:  "About  sixty  pounds  of  sugar  on  the  average 
is  annually  consumed  by  every  man,  woman  and  child  in  the  United 
States.  It  is  only  within  the  last  generation  that  refined  sugars  have 


A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY.  17 

become  so  low  in  price  that  they  may  be  commonly  used  by  the  poorest 
families.  Formerly  honey  was  the  principal  sweet.  It  "would  be  greatly 
for  the  health  of  the  present  generation  if  honey  could  be  at  least  par- 
tially restored  to  its  former  place  as  a  common  article  of  diet.  The 
almost  universal  craving  for  sweets  of  some  kind  shows  a  need  of  the 
system  in  that  direction ;  but  the  excessive  use  of  sugar  brings  in  its  train 
a  long  list  of  ills.  Besides  the  various  disorders  of  the  alimentary  canal, 
that  dread  scourge,  Brighfs  disease,  is  credited  with  being  one  of  the 
results  of  sugar  eating." 

Prof.  Cook  says:  "There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  in  eating  honey 
our  digestive  machinery  is  saved  work  that  it  would  have  to  perform  if 
we  ate  cane  sugar;  and  in  case  it  is  overworked  and  feeble,  this  may  be 
just  the  respite  that  will  save  from  a  breakdown." 

Mr.  A.  I.  Root  says :  "Many  people  who  cannot  eat  sugar  without  hav- 
ing unpleasant  symptoms  follow  will  find  by  careful  test  that  they  can 
eat  good,  well-ripened  honey  without  any  difficulty  at  all." 

"Not  only  is  honey  the  most  wholesome  of  all  sweets,  but  it  is  the  most 
delicious.  No  more  tempting  dish  can  grace  the  table  at  the  most  lavish 
banquet;  and  yet  its  cost  is  so  moderate  that  it  may  well  find  a  place  on 
the  tables  of  the  common  people  every  day  in  the  week.  Often  a  prime 
article  of  extracted  honey,  equal  to  comb  honey  in  every  respect  save 
appearance,  can  be  obtained  for  half  the  price  of  butter  or  less.  Butter 
is  at  its  best  only  when  fresh,  while  honey  properly  kept  remains  good 
indefinitely — no  need  to  hurry  it  out  of  the  way  for  fear  it  may  become 
rancid." 

Prof.  Cook  further  says :  "We  all  know  how  children  long  for  candy. 
This  longing  voices  a  need,  and  is  another  evidence  of  the  necessity  of 
sugar  in  our  diet.  Children  should  be  given  all  the  honey  at  meal  time 
that  they  will  eat.  It  is  safer ;  will  largely  do  away  with  the  inordinate 
longing  for  candy  and  other  sweets;  and  in  lessening  the  desire  will 
doubtless  diminish  the  amount  of  cane  sugar  eaten. 

"Sugar  is  much  used  in  hot  drinks,  as  in,  coffee  and  tea.  The  substitu- 
tion of  a  mild  flavored  honey  in  such  cases  may  be  a  very  profitable  thing 
for  the  health.  Indeed,  it  would  be  better  for  the  health  if  the  only  hot 
drink  were  what  is  called  in  Germany  'honey-tea' — a  cup  of  hot  water 
with  one  or  two  tablespoonfuls  of  extracted  honey." 

In  commercial  bakeries,  honey  is  the  principal  sweet  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  the  cookies,  cakes,  and  biscuits  commonly  found  on  the  mar- 
ket. Honey  is  practically  the  only  sweet  adapted  to  this  purpose  as  it 
has  the  property  of  "keeping"  the  cakes  moist  and  fresh  for  a  compara- 
tively long  time.  In  domestic  cooking  honey  can  be  used  in  a  variety  of 
ways,  but  the  general  substitution  of  honey  for  sugar  in  cooking  is  not  to 
be  recommended,  as  such  attempts  are  sometimes  disastrous.  Properly 
used,  however,  many  choice  delicacies  can  be  made  with  honey  as  the 
chief  ingredient.  In  the  booklet  mentioned  above  are  given  no  less  than 
twenty-two  recipes,  all  of  which  have  been  thoroughly  tested  and  "found 
to  be  good." 

PROFIT  IN  BEE  KEEPING. 

Where  -fruit  is  grown  the  yield  is  materially  increased  by  the  presence 
of  honey  bees  to  fertilize  the  blooms.  Practical  orchardists,  realizing 
the  importance  of  this,  in  many  places  furnish  locations  and  facilities 

2-A 


18  A.  AND  M.   COLLEGE  APIARY. 

rent  free  to  bee  keepers  for  locating  bees  in  their  orchards.  In  fruit 
growing  localities  it  would  be  profitable  from  the  orchardist's  standpoint 
to  keep  bees,  even  were  no  surplus  honey  produced  whatever. 

Last,  but  by  no  means  least,  the  question  of  commercial  profit  must  be 
considered.  In  well-favored  localities,  bees  properly  managed  will  pro- 
duce not  less  than  sixty  pounds  of  honey  per  colony  each  season,  on  an 
average.  Considering  this  to  be  sold  at  the  very  low  price  of  6  cents  per 
pound,  the  return  will  be  $3.60.  From  this  should  be  deducted,  in 
order  to  secure  a  conservative  estimate  of  the  profit,  say  possibly  as  much 
as  $1.10  for  time  expended,  wear  and  tear  on  apparatus  and  hives  and  for 
capital  invested  in  other  apparatus.  This  leaves  $2.50  as  profit  on  the 
original  amount  invested  in  the  colony,  which  should  not  exceed  $5.00. 
It  will  be  seen  that  this  results  in  a  net  profit  of  50  per  cent,  on  the  orig- 
inal investment.  However,  it  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  figures  are  not 
always  verified  in  actual  practice.  While  under  proper  management  and 
in  favorable  localities  each  colony  may  confidently  be  expected  to  yield 
an  average  profit  of  $2.50  per  year,  we  would  strongly  emphasize  the 
point  that  beginners  at  least  should  not  "plunge"  into  the  bee  business. 
To  be  a  specialist  and  a  successful  one  requires  good  management,  knowl- 
edge of  economy  in  time  and  money,  and  a  strict  familiarity  with  the 
technical  features  of  the  industry.  He  who  would  become  a  successful 
bee  keeper,  and  a  bee  keeper  to  the  exclusion  of  other  business  interests, 
should  begin  with  a  few  colonies — not  to  exceed  five  or  ten — and  care- 
fully study  them.  As  they  increase,  his  knowledge  and  experience  should 
keep  pace,  and  it  may  be  depended  upon  that  in  this  advance  the  bees 
will  increase  in  numbers  fully  as  fast  as  the  average  man  can  increase  in 
knowledge  and  experience.  In  other  words,  one  should  grow  into  the 
industry,  rather  than  enter  it  suddenly,  thereby  preventing  heavy  losses 
and  disappointments. 

In  making  the  above  estimate  the  price  of  6  cents  per  pound  was  given. 
This  is  below  the  average  price,  even  where  honey  is  sold  in  a  wholesale 
way.  When  sold  locally  or  retailed  by  the  bee  keeper  himself  honey  of 
good  flavor  and  color,  well  ripened,  should  bring  not  less  than  10  cents 
per  pound.  In  many  cases  bee  keepers  have  built  up  their  own  trade  in 
their  own  localities  and  in  adjacent  towns  and  cities;  in  many  cases  by 
offering  only  a  superior  article  they  are  able  to  command  a  price  of  from 
15  to  25  cents  per  pound. 

RACES  OF  BEES. 

For  the  benefit  of  those  who  may  be  undecided  as  to  the  best  variety  or 
race  of  bees  to  select,  a  brief  discussion  of  these  is  here  given. 

Black,  or  German,  Bees. — This  is  the  bee  that  is  most  commonly  found 
in  box  hives,  bee  trees  and  in  many  of  the  extensive  apiaries  in  Texas. 
This  bee  originally  came  from  Germany,  being  brought  to  America  by  the 
first  settlers.  Swarms  escaping  from  their  owners  established  themselves 
in  hollow  trees  in  the  woods  and  have  since  been  gradually  increasing  and 
spreading  across  the  continent.  Their  numbers  have  been  from  time  to 
time  swollen  by  the  additional  swarms  escaping  from  their  owners,  until 
now  in  some  sections  "bee  trees"  are  comparatively  abundant.  Of  late 
years  many  Italian  bees  have  thus  escaped  to  the " woods,  and  it  is  not 
uncommon  to  find  a  bee  tree  containing  hybrids  and  occasionally  pure 


A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY.  19 

Italians.  Throughout,  the  bee  has  been  the  warning  of  the  advance  of 
civilization,  invariably  preceding  the  white  settler  by  many  miles.  The 
appearance  of  a  swarm  of  bees,  in  the  early  days,  was  considered  by  the 
Indians  as  an  invariable  sign  of  the  white  man's  approach  and  signified 
to  them  the  ultimate  loss  of  their  hunting  grounds.  The  Black  or  Ger- 
man bee  is  too  familiar  to  need  any  detailed  description,  suffice  to  say 
that  in  many  cases  colonies  are  found  that  equal  in  honey-producing 
ability  any  of  the  other  races,  and  while,  as  a  rule,  their  production  does 
not  average  as  high  as  that  of  the  Italians,  it  is  not  advisable  for  the  aver- 
age bee  keeper  to  dispose  of  individual  colonies  of  black  bees  which  make 
good  or  exceptional  crops  of  honey. 

Carniolans. — These  bees  at  first  sight  appear  much  like  the  black  bees, 
but  close  examination  shows  them  to  be  more  of  a  gray  color  and  to  have 
the  rings  of  the  abdomen  a  marked  light  gray.  They  are  about  the  same 
size  as  the  Blacks,  the  drones,  if  anything,  being  larger  than  those  of  the 
Blacks,  and  most  decidedly  larger  than  the  Italian  drones.  The  workers, 
and  to  a  more  marked  extent  the  drones,  have  a  gray  pubescence  or  hairy 
covering  over  the  thorax ;  and  in  the  case  of  the  drones  covering  also  the 
under  side  of  the  abdomen,  except  on  the  median  line.  The  Carniolans 
are  noted  for  their  docility  and  can  be  handled  in  the  majority  of  cases 
without  a  veil  or  even  without  smoke.  They  sting  but  rarely  and  show  a 
remarkably  constant  temperament.  Mr.  A.  I.  Eoot,  however,  reports  the 
case  of  a  colony  which  was  fully  as  vindictive  as  the  Cyprians.  The 
same  authority  states  that  they  gather  but  little  propolis.  Our  personal 
observations  bear  out  this  fact,  but  there  also  seems  to  be  a  somewhat 
greater  inclination  to  build  brace  combs,  even  when  the  frames  are  cor- 
rectly spaced.  This,  however,  is  not  a  serious  objection.  In  capping 
honey  the  Carniolans  are  superior  to  any  other  race,  making  thin  caps  of 
snowy  whiteness.  This  is  a  decided  point  in  their  favor  as  it  improves 
the  marketable  appearance  of  the  product,  especially  in  the  case  of  sec- 
tion honey.  In  this  respect  the  Carniolans  are  closely  followed  by  the 
Blacks.  The  Carniolans  are  noted  for  their  swarming  propensities,  and 
if  this  swarming  impulse  should  prove  to  be  uncontrollable,  it  would  be 
a  serious  objection  to  them,  as  overswarming  is  most  detrimental  to  the 
production  of  surplus  honey.  Mr.  G-.  F.  Davidson,  of  Floresville,  Texas, 
however,  reports  that  he  can  control  swarming  with  this  race  as  well  as 
with  other  races  by  means  of  the  "shook-swarm"  method,  which  will  be 
discussed  later.  The  Carniolans  have  several  times  been  tried  in  the 
North  and  East  and  have  in  most  cases  been  abandoned  as  presenting  no 
advantages  over  the  Italians.  They  are  at  present  being  tested  by  several 
expert  Texas  bee  keepers  and  the  results  thus  far  have  been  gratifying. 
While  this  or  any  other  race  may  be  found  totally  unadapted  to  Northern 
or  Eastern  conditions,  the  much  different  climate  and  conditions  of  honey 
flow  prevailing  in  parts  of  our  State  may  prove  them  to  be  of  much  value. 

Cyprians. — In  color  and  general  appearance  these  much  resemble  Ital- 
ians, but  on  the  average  are  somewhat  smaller  and  have  a  more  glistening 
appearance,  especially  when  exposed  to  direct  sunlight.  They  are  excel- 
lent honey  gatherers,  but  have  the  drawback  of  a  very  excitable  tempera- 
ment. In  fact,  their  distinguishing  characteristics  lie  not  in  appearance, 
but  in  their  actions.  Always  nervous  and  easily  aroused  to  battle,  they 
must  be  handled  with  but  a  minimum  amount  of  smoke,  and  with  even, 
almost  slow,  movements.  The  jarring  of  a  frame  against  the  hive,  or 


20  A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY. 

the  dropping  of  a  tool  upon  the  frames,  is  often  sufficient  to  send  a  veri- 
table swarm  out  on  the  operator.  Even  without  any  apparent  aggrava- 
tion whatever  they  will  sometimes  fly  out  in  this  way  in  a  sudden  attack. 
In  entering  or  leaving  the  hive  the  flight  is  quicker  than  that  of  the 
Italian,  and  is  jerky  and  fidgety  in  its  nature.  In  ordinary  flight,  also, 
the  tone  or  hum  of  the  wings  seems  to  be  of  a  higher  pitch  than  that  of 
other  races.  Being  of  a  combative  temperament,  this  race  is  especially 
capable  of  protecting  itself  against  robbers,  whether  bees,  human,  or 
otherwise.  Every  bee  as  he  alights  at  the  entrance  of  the  hive  is  at  once 
pounced  upon  by  the  guards  and  critically  examined  before  being  allowed 
to  proceed  into  the  hive.  The  Cyprian  is  a  prolific  -breeder,  this  being  a 
marked  advantage  in  some  localities. 

For  the  expert  bee  keeper  who  has  nothing  in  view  but  the  size  of  his 
honey  crop,  and  in  a  climate  like  that  of  Southwest  Texas,  and  for  him 
who  enjoys  stings  in  abundance,  the  Cyprians  will  be  found  well  adapted. 
The  fact  that  they  are  not  susceptible  of  rapid  manipulation/and  there- 
fore require  more  time,  is  in  the  opinion  of  some  a  drawback  that  more 
than  offsets  their  advantages  as  honey  gatherers.  Messrs.  0.  P.  Hyde  & 
Sons,  of  Floresville,  Texas,  who  have  experimented  extensively  with  them, 
state  that  they  have  equaled  and  in  many  cases  exceeded  the  yields  given 
by  the  Italians.  The  Cyprians  were  first  imported  from  the  Isle  of 
Cyprus  and  are  regarded  as  being  descended  from  the  same  stock  as  the 
Italians,  but  owing  to  their  isolation  have  developed  traits  distinct  from 
those  exhibited  by  the  Italians  from  the  mainland. 

Holy  Land  Bees. — The  Holy  Lands  are  a  comparatively  recent  intro- 
duction into  this  country  and  have  not  as  yet  been  extensively  studied  or 
tested.  They  come  originally  from  the  vicinity  of  Jerusalem  and  doubt- 
less, judging  from  their  appearance  and  habits,  are  also  descended  from 
the  same  original  stock  as  the  Italians  and  Cyprians.  While,  however, 
the  development  of  the  Cyprian  branch  has  been  towards  a  vindictive 
temperament,  the  development  of  the  Holy  Land  has  been  towards  a 
marked  docility..  Nor  do  the  Holy  Lands  seem  to  be  as  closely  related 
to  the  Italians  as  do  the  Cyprians,  for  they  are  smaller  and  darker 
in  color,  being  in  fact  of  almost  an  ashy  appearance  Especially  when 
clustered  on  a  comb  is  this  ashy  appearance  very  noticeable.  According 
to  Mr.  W.  H.  Laws,  of  Beeville,  Texas,  who  uses  them  almost  exclusively 
in  his  honey  apiaries,  and  who  rears  many  hundreds  of  Holy  Land  queens 
annually,  they  are  more  prolific  breeders  than  Italians  and  at  the  close  of 
a  honey  flow  will  continue  breeding  for  some  time,  gradually  decreasing 
their  operations  in  this  direction.  After  finally  suspending  brood  rear- 
ing for  some  time,  they  will  again  resume,  even  "though  no  honey  is  to  be 
had  in  the  fields,  rearing  their"  larvae  entirely  from  honey  stored  the  pre- 
vious season.  In  localities  where  honey  flows  alternate  with  periods  of 
absolute  absence  of  forage  for  the  bees,  this  point  is  of  immense  advan- 
tage as  the  strength  of  the  colony  is  kept  up  and  they  are  better  prepared 
for  work  when  the  honey  flow  arrives.  They  can  be  handled  easily  with 
only  a  small  amount  of  smoke  and  in  many  cases  with  none  at  all.  Those 
of  direct  or  recent  importation  show  a  more  nervous  disposition  than 
those  which  have  been  bred  in  this  country  for  several  years. 

Italians. — The  favorite  bee  with  the  majority  of  bee  keepers,  and  espe- 
cially with  Northern  bee  keepers,  is  the  Italian.  This  bee  comes  orig- 


A.    AND    M.     COLLKGE    APIARY.  21 

inally  from  Italy,  is  of  medium  size,  and  the  workers  have  three  distinct 
yellow  or  golden  bands  upon  the  abdomen,  the  remainder  being  of  a  dark 
leather  or  brownish  color.  The  thorax  (that  part  of  the  body  to  which 
the  wings  and  legs  are  attached)  is  covered  with  a  dark  yellow  pubescence 
— a  coating  of  fine  hairs  closely  set.  They  are  as  a  usual  thing  of  a 
remarkably  even  temperament,  and  can  be  handled  readily  with  the  use 
of  smoke.  When  handled  rapidly  and  roughly,  as  is  frequently  the  case 
during  a  heavy  honey  flow,  they  are  not  nearly  so  quick  to  battle  as  are 
both  the  Cyprians  and  Blacks,  and  can  be  depended  upon  to  give  a  better 
average  honey  crop  than  the  latter.  While  Italians  are  usually  easier  to 
handle  than  Blacks  they  are  found  to  better  defend  themselves  against 
natural  enemies,  and  especially  against  the  wax-moth.  In  fact  the  Ital- 
ian bee  is  the  best  bee  for  the  beginner  to  select  and  better  adapted  to  a 
greater  variety  of  conditions  than  any  other.  Where  it  is  not  practicable 
to  make  a  start  with  pure  Italians  the  ordinary  Blacks  can  be  easily  Ital- 
ianized by  giving  each  colony  a  tested  Italian  queen. 

Golden  Italians. — These  have  been  produced  by  selective  breeding  from 
the  regular  Italian,  special  reference  being  given  to  securing  as  much 
yellow  as  possible  on  the  abdomens  of  the  workers  and  drones.  The  best 
Goldens  show  distinctly  five  yellow  bands  upon  the  abdomen,  and  at  a 
short  distance  appear  to  be  of  a  pure  golden  color  entirely.  The  Golden 
has  been  bred  exclusively  with  a  view  to  appearance,  and  while  Mr.  W.  0. 
Victor,  of  Wharton,  Texas,  has  produced  a  strain  that  proves  to  be  excel- 
lent honey  gatherers,  the  breeding  process  has  often  been  at  the  expense 
of  honey  gathering  and  other  qualities,  and  has  doubtless  in  many  cases 
resulted  in  a  reduced  vitality.  For  the  bee  fancier  they  are  well  adapted, 
but  for  the  average  bee  keeper  the  regular  three-banded  or  imported  ItaLr 
ian  is  to  be  preferred.  The  latter  differs  but  little  from  the  familiar 
three-banded  Italian,  but  as  a  usual  thing  the  direct  descendants  of  an 
imported  queen  show  a  darker  color  than  those  which  have  been  bred  in 
this  country  for  some  time.  For  this  reason  the  recently  imported  bees 
are  often  designated  as  "leather-colored"  Italians.  They  are  preferable 
to  the  Italians  that  have  been  "American-bred,"  except  in  cases  where 
the  breeding  of  the  latter  has  been  of  a  strictly  selective  nature  with 
a  view  to  producing  the  best  bee  possible. 

Hybrids. — Having  given  the  five  distinct  races — Carniolans,  Cyprians, 
Holy  Lands,  Blacks  and  Italians- — there  are  possible  ten  distinct  hybrids 
as  the  result  of  the  first  cross,  one  race  with  another.  Owing  to  the 
abundance  of  the  Italians  and  the  Blacks,  the  cross  between  these  two 
races  is  the  one  most  frequently  met  with,  and  the  one  popularly  desig- 
nated as  hybrid.  In  many  cases  these  hybrids  are  found  to  be  as  good 
average  honey  gatherers  as  the  pure  Italians,  and  in  many  cases  excep- 
tionally energetic  workers.  This  doubtless  results  from  the  stamina  due 
to  the  addition  of  foreign  blood.  While  reputed  generally  among  bee 
keepers  to  be  of  a  cross  disposition,  our  own  experience  is  that  they  are 
not  crosser  than  the  Italians,  and  in  many  cases  a  colony  is  found  that 
is  much  more  docile  than  the  average  colony  of  the  latter  race.  The 
amateur  bee  keeper,  in  Italianizing  an  apiary  of  Blacks,  will  invariably 
get  Italian  queens  mated  to  Black  drones  and  in  the  resulting  bees  he  will 
have  a  vast  opportunity  for  observation  on  these  points. 


22  A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY. 

HOW  TO  SECURE  BEES. 

If  the  beginner  does  not  happen  to  have  bees  in  box  hives,  his  best 
plan  of  obtaining  bees  will  be  to  purchase  them,  provided,  of  course,  that 
he  can  get  them  at  a  reasonable  price.  What  constitutes  a  reasonable 
price  must  depend  upon  locality,  condition  and  amount  of  the  honey 
crop,  as  well  as  upon  the  strength  of  the  colony,  amount  of  honey  con- 
tained in  the  hive,  and  the  style  or  make  of  the  latter.  As  a  general  rule 
it  may  be  considered  that  for  either  Italians  or  Black  bees  in  box  hives, 
with  a  reasonable  amount  of  honey,  a  price  of  $1.00  to  $1.50  is  amply 
sufficient.  For  colonies  in  frame  hives  of  antiquated  or  worthless  pat- 
terns, and  the  frames  of  which  are  of  such  a  size  as  to  fit  the  regular  ten- 
frame  dovetailed  hive,  a  price  of  $2.50  to  $3.50  usually  prevails.  Black 
bees  or  hybrids,  with  queen  of  the  same  kind,  in  dovetailed  ten-frame 
hives  are  worth  on  an  average  of  $3.50  to  $4.00  per  colony.  Colonies  in 
new  or  perfect  ten-frame  dovetailed  hives  with  ten  frames  of  honey  and 
brood,  a  strong  force  of  working  bees,  and  a  good  Italian  queen,  com- 
mand the  uniform  price  of  $5.00  each.  These  prices  may  be  higher  or 
lower  according  to  demand,  and  according  to  whether  the  purchase  is 
made  just  previous  to  a  honey  season  or  just  after  it.  In  more  favored 
parts  of  the  State,  strong  colonies  in  early  spring  often  sell  for  as  high 
as  $10.00  each,  while  in  late  summer  they  may  not  bring  more  than  $3.00. 
Colonies  in  bee  trees  as  a  usual  thing  are  worth  no  more  than  the  time 
and  labor  required  to  take  them  out  and  transfer  to  frame  hives.  At 
times,  however,  the  honey  obtained  in  addition  to  the  bees  is  sufficient  to 
pay  handsomely  for  the  work  and  the  bees  remain  as  profit.  While  it  is 
not  generally  profitable  to  pay  parties  for  bee  trees,  a  quarter  or  half 
dollar  invested  in  their  good  will  may  ultimately  be  found  profitable. 

LIFE  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  BEE. 

In  order  to  be  a  successful  bee  keeper  one  must  understand  at  least 
something  of  the  domestic  economy  of  the  hive,  and  must  have  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  way  in  which  bees  are  reared,  honey  stored,  combs  built,  etc., 
A  knowledge  of  all  this  will  make  clear  to  the  novice  how  he  may  perform 
certain  work  and  operations  without  disturbing  the  domestic  arrange- 
ments of  the  bees  and  how  he  may  in  many  cases  aid  them  in  their  work, 
thereby  increasing  the  honey  yield  and  avoiding  losses  of  both  bees  and 
honey.  Inside  of  the  hive  will  be  found  three  distinct  forms  of  adult 
bees,  namely,  the  queen,  workers,  and  drones  (see  Plate  II).  Only  one 
queen  is  found  in  each  colony,  and  her  sole  duty  is  to  deposit  the  eggs 
from  which  all  bees  are  hatched.  She  alone  is  the  egg  layer  and  is  the 
mother  of  all  bees  hatched  in  the  hive.  Having  no  other  duty  to  perform 
she  is  specially  adapted  by  nature  for  her  egg-laying  duties.  She  is  even 
fed  by  worker  bees,  who  accompany  her  constantly  and  see  to  her  wants. 
From  cell  to  cell  she  goes  quietly  at  her  work,  depositing  in  each  a  small 
white  egg,  cylindrical  in  form  and  approximately  1.8  millimetres  (about 
7-100  of  an  inch)  in  length.  In  appearance  the  queen  is  much  longer 
than  the  worker  bees  and  is  also  slightly  thicker  and  broader.  However, 
on  account  of  her  lengthened  abdomen,  she  appears  much  more  slender. 
Her  abdomen  is  not  as  distinctly  banded  as  that  of  a  worker  and  is 
usually  of  a  uniform  tawny  or  dark  color  throughout.  The  thorax  is 


24  A.    AND    M.    COLLKGE   APIARY. 

almost  devoid  of  hairs  and  presents  a  shining  appearance.  A  good  queen 
will,  during  the  honey  season,  lay  as  high  as  1500  to  2000  eggs  per  day. 
Usually  she  will  continue  active  egg  laying  for  two  years,  often  three, 
after  which  time  she  is  usually  superseded  by  a  young  queen. 

The  workers  are  by  far  the  most  abundant  individuals  in  the  hive, 
numbering  in  strong  colonies  about  40,000.  They  are  the  units  of  organ- 
ized labor  and  to  their  lot  fall  all  the  duties  of  the  hive,  except  the  egg 
laying  and  fertilizing  of  the  queen.  They  build  the  comb,  gather  the 
honey,  keep  up  the  temperature  and  ventilation  of  the  hive,  brood  over 
the  eggs,  feed  the  young  bees  or  larvae,  and  protect  the  community  from 
robbers  and  other  enemies.  In  appearance  they  differ  from  the  queen  by 
their  shorter  and  somewhat  smaller  body,  and  by  marked  pubescence  iipon 
the  thorax.  Both  the  queen  and  workers  are  provided  with  stings,  but 
the  queen  rarely  makes  use  of  hers,  even  when  roughly  handled  in  the 
fingers  or  perhaps  mashed,  and  it  is  supposed  that  she  only  uses  that 
weapon  when  in  a  fight  with  a  rival  queen.  The  workers  when  angered 
do  not  hesitate  to  use  their  stings.  The  drones  will  be  found  more  abun- 
dant at  certain  seasons  than  at  others,  and  especially  are  they  plentiful 
at  the  approach  of  swarming  time  in  the  spring.  Hardly  to  exceed  two 
or  three  hundred  are  to  be  found  at  a  time  in  each  colony,  and  as  a  usual 


Fig.  1.— Queen's  egg,  highly  magnified.    (From  A.  I. 
Boot,  A  B  C  of  Bee  Culture.) 

thing  fifty  to  seventy-five  will  nearly  be  the  correct  number  during  the 
summer  and  autumn.  They  may  be  readily  recognized  by  their  immense 
size  as  compared  with  the  workers,  and  by  the  fact  that  their  abdomens 
are  blunt  and  rounded,  instead  of  sharp  at  the  apex  as  are  those  of  the 
queen  and  workers.  (See  Plate  II.)  Big  and  clumsy  appearing  fellows, 
they  have  no  part  in  the  economy  of  the  hive,  and  their  sole  object  of 
existence  is  to  fertilize  the  young  queen  which,  under  natural  conditions, 
appears  in  the  colony  about  once  a  year.  They  gather  no  honey,  do  no 
work,  and  merely  consume  stores.  At  the  approach  of  winter  or  upon  a 
dearth  of  honey  they  are  one  and  all  ruthlessly  killed  or  expelled  from  the 
hive  to  perish,  by  the  workers.  The  drone  develops  from  an  unfertilized 
egg,  and  as  the  queen  seems  to  have  the  power  of  laying  fertilized  or 
unfertilized  eggs  at  will,  drones  are  produced  whenever  needed,  as  at  the 
beginning  of  the  next  honey  flow  or  at  the  approach  of  swarming  time. 
The  egg  described  above  (see  Fig.  1)  when  seen  under  the  microscope 
presents  a  beautiful  appearance,  being  covered  with  a  net-work  01  fine 
lines.  At  the  end  of  about  three  days  after  deposition  the  egg  hatches, 
having  been  previously  surrounded  with  a  milky  food  by  the  worker  bees. 
The  egg  produces  a  very  small,  pure  white  larva,  the  growth  of  which  is 
very  rapid.  For  six  days  it  is  fed  by  the  worker  bees  and  at  about  the 


A.  AND  M.   COLLEGE  APIARY. 


25 


tenth  day  after  egg  deposition  is  sealed  over  with  a  thin  covering  and  left 
to  gradually  molt  and  take  on  the  form  of  the  adult  bee.  Twenty-one 
days  after  the  egg  was  laid  in  the  case  of  the  young  worker  bees,  and 
twenty-three  days  in  the  case  of  the  young  drones,  the  bee  has  completed 
its  growth,  gnaws  open  the  covering  of  its  cell,  and  crawls  out,  a  per- 
fectly developed  bee,  but  nevertheless  looking  a  bit  rough,  fuzzy  and 
clumsy.  Soon  it  grooms  out  the  small  hairs  covering  its  body,  rapidly 
gains  command  of  its  legs  and  goes  to  an  unsealed  cell  of  honey  for  its 
first  meal.  After  the  first  or  second  day  out  of  the  cell,  the  young  worker 
takes  up  the  duties  of  "nurse"  and  prepares  and  gives  food  to  the  larvae. 
Under  average  conditions,  according  to  Mr.  A.  I.  Eoot,  this  may  be  con- 
tinued by  the  young  bee  up  to  any  time  from  the  sixth  to  the  fourteenth 
day,  after  which  it  engages  in  comb  building,  honey  gathering  and  the 
other  duties  of  the  hive,  now  being  a  fully  developed  bee  in  every  way. 


Fig.  2.— Ten  frame  dove-tailed   hive.     (From 
A.  I.  Root,  A  B  C  of  Bee  Culture. ) 


Fig. 


—Hoffman  self-spacing  frames.    (After 
A.  I.  Boot  Co.) 


The  younger  bees  do  not  do  much  in  guarding  the  hive  until  they  reach 
at  least  middle  age.  The  younger  bees  can  be  handled  with  impunity  and 
will  not  sting,  and  it  is  the  old  bees  in  the  hive  that  make  trouble  for  the 
operator  when  the  hive  is  opened  or  disturbed. 

In  looking  over  the  combs  in  a  hive  the  majority  of  the  cells  will  be 
found  of  a  uniform  size  and  making  up  the  bulk.  These  are  the  worker 
cells.  In  spots,  and  sometimes  occupying  entire  frames,  will  be  noticed 
cells  that  are  markedly  larger  than  the  rest.  These  latter  are  the  drone 
cells,  making  up  what  is  termed  the  "drone  comb."  It  is  in  these  cells 
that  the  drones,  being  larger,  are  reared.  No  material  difference  is  noted 
in  the  larval  history  of  the  drone,  from  that  of  the  worker,  except  that 
twenty-three  days  instead  of  twenty-one  are  required  for  the  attainment 
of  maturity. 

The  life  history  of  the  queen  will  be  discussed  under  the  head  of 
"Swarming,"  to  be  mentioned  later  on. 


26 


A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY. 


HIVES. 

That  the  bees  may  be  properly  observed,  that  queenlessness  may  be 
avoided,  and  remedied  when  it  does  occur;  and  in  order  to  see^that  the 
bees  do  not  run  short  of  stores,  as  sometimes  occurs  in  an  unfavorable 
season,  it  is  necessary  that  we  use  a  hive  in  which  the  combs  are  readily 
movable,  so  that  they  can  be  removed  for  examination  at  the  convenience 
of  the  bee  keeper.  We,  therefore,  have  what  is  designatd  as  the  "frame 
hive."  Many  different  sizes  and  designs  have  been  manufactured  for 
this  purpose  and  a  large  variety  are  in  use  today  by  the  various  bee  keep- 
ers, each  particular  kind  having  its  advocates.  The  hive  in  most  exten- 
sive use,  and  above  all  others  best  adapted  for  the  beginner,  is  known  as 
the  ten-frame  dovetailed  hive.  This  is  shown  in  Fig.  2.  It  consists  of  a 
movable  bottom-board  upon  which  is  fastened,  on  top  of  both  sides  and 
one  end,  a  cleat.  The  ffhive-body"  proper,  consisting  of  an  oblong  dove- 
tailed box,  is  next  placed  on  the  bottom-board  and  the  cleats  above  men- 
tioned leave  an  opening  at  one  end,  designated  as  the  front.  This  open- 
ing constitutes  the  entrance  to  the  hive  and  is  the  only  passage  way  used 


Fig.  4.— Method  of  inserting  foundation  into  Hoff- 
man frames.     (After  A.  I.  Boot  Co.) 


Fig.  5.— Foundation  roller  for  fastening  in  frames. 
(After  A.  I.  Root  Co.) 


by  the  bees  for  entering  or  leaving.  Inside  the  hive-body  are  ten  frames 
having  protruding  top  bars,  which  rest  upon  tin  rabbets  within  each  end 
of  the  body.  In  each  of  these  ten  frames  a  comb  is  built  by  the  bees,  a]l 
being  readily  removable.  As  with  hives,  we  have  also  a  variety  of  frames. 
The  one  most  popular  and  best  constructed  is  designated  as  the  "Hoff- 
man" frame.  Two  of  these  are  shown  in  Fig.  3.  It  will  be  noticed  that 
one  side  of  the  end  of  each  frame  has  towards  the  top  a  V-shaped  pro- 
jection; while  the  opposite  side  of  the  frame  has  a  plain  surface.  When 
placed  side  by  side  in  the  hive,  these  V-shaped  projections  keep  the  frames 
the  right  distance  or  a  "bee  space"  apart.  This  is  an  important  feature, 
as  when  the  frames  are  placed  too  close  together  insufficient  room  is  left 
for  the  bees  to  cluster  above  the  brood  and  for  carrying  on  their  work. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  frames  are  too  far  apart,  the  bees  will  attempt 
to  fill  up  the  extra  space  by  building  combs  from  one  frame  to  another, 
producing  what  are  termed  "brace  combs,"  and  which  will  cause  the 
frames  to  adhere  firmly  to  each  other  when  an  attempt  is  made  to  remove 
them.  By  using  the  Hoffman  frame,  the  beginner  avoids  these  difficul- 
ties entirely,  as  the  frames  are  self -spacing.  Before  the  frames  are  placed 
in  the  hive,  there  should  be  in  each  a  sheet  of  "foundation."  This  is 


A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY. 


27 


made  by  machinery  and  consists  of  a  sheet  of  wax  having  impressed  in 
it,  on  both  sides,  the  bottoms  of  the  cells,  as  well  as  a  portion  of  the  cell 
walls.  As  its  name  signifies,  it  is  the  foundation  upon  which  the  bees 
build  their  combs  and  by  its  use  much  time  and  labor  is  saved  the  bees, 
in  addition  to  the  fact  that  it  insures  straight  combs.  This  foundation 
is  fastened  into  the  frame  by  means  of  a  double  groove  and  wedge,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  4,  or  by  using  the  foundation  roller,  shown  in  Fig.  5.  The 
foundation  next  has  imbedded  in  it  three  or  four  fine  tinned  wires, 
stretched  tightly  through  the  frame  from  end  to  end.  This  imbedding  is 
done  with  a  "spur  wire-imbedder,"  which  is  no  more  nor  less  than  a  small 
steel  tracing  wheel,  with  alternating  teeth.  These  wires  serve  to  hold 
the  comb  firmly  when  built  out,  and  prevent  its  sagging  or  breaking 
when  shipped  or  handled.  On  no  account  should  this  wiring  be  omitted. 
Upon  the  hive-body  is  placed  the  cover,  which  is  also  made  in  various 
designs,  but  a  good  cover  should  be  thoroughly  tight  and  the  boards 


f 


Fig.  6.— A  serviceable  bee-veil. 
(After  A.I.  Boot  Co.) 


Fig.    7.-Corneil  smoker, 
A.  I.  Boot  Co.) 


(After 


should  be  prevented  from  warping  by  being  inserted  in  a  grooved  end- 
piece.  When  surplus  honey  is  being  gathered  by  the  bees  a  "super"  or 
upper  story  is  placed  above  the  hive  body  and  the  cover  upon  top  of  the 
super.  Supers  will  be  further  discussed  under  the  head  of  "Honey 
Flow." 

OTHER  APPARATUS. 

In  addition  to  the  hives,  it  is  imperative  that  the  bee  keeper  have  a 
good  strong  veil  and  a  smoker.  The  veil  best  adapted  to  this  purpose 
is  made  of  cotton  tulle,  with  a  silk  tulle  face,  and  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  6. 
The  cotton  tulle  is  durable  and  the  face  of  silk  tulle  does  not  interfere 
with  the  sight.  If  the  beginner  is  a  bit  timid,  it  may  be  well  to  have  a 
pair  of  gloves,  either  of  cotton  oiled  with  linseed  oil  or  of  common  leather 
not  too  thick  or  stiff.  After  a  little  familiarity  with  the  bees  the  gloves 
will  be  found  entirely  unnecessary,  except  in  the  case  of  extremely  cross 
colonies.  While  in  practice  it  is  well  to  dispense  with  the  gloves,  the  veil 
should  always  be  worn,  as  a  matter  of  precaution  against  sudden  attacks 


28  A.  AND  M».  COLLEGE  APIARY. 

from  the  bees,  which  may  be  occasioned  by  robbers,  dropping  a  tool  on 
the  hive.,  or  otherwise.  Especially  is  this  true  with  the  beginner,  who 
may  at  times  feel  a  little  nervous.  This  nervousness  will  in  a  short  time 
wear  off,  however,  even  with  the  most  timid.  When  the  bees  show  a  ten- 
dency to  crawl  up  the  trousers  legs,  this  can  be  prevented  by  tucking  the 
latter  into  a  pair  of  high-topped  boots,  by  wearing  leggins,  or  by  put- 
ting on  a  pair  of  ordinary  bicycle  pants-guards.  A  good  smoker  is 
necessary  and  the  Bingham  or  Corneil  smoker  will  be  found  to  give  the 
best  service  and  to  be  the  cheapest  in  the  long  run.  The  Corneil  smoker 
is  represented  in  Fig.  7.  For  fuel  in  the  smoker  almost  any  dry  sub- 
stance, not  making  too  strong  a  smoke,  may  be  used.  We  have  found  that 
pine  shavings  make  an  abundant  smoke,  and  when  once  thoroughly  on 
fire  and  well  packed  will  hold  fire  for  a  long  time.  The  pine  shavings, 
however,  have  the  disadvantage  of  gumming  up  the  smoker.  Cedar  bark, 
thoroughly  dry,  is  a  fine  smoker  fuel,  as  is  also  cotton  rags,  or  dry  ash  or 
mesquite  wood.  In  no  case  should  such  things  as  sulphur  or  tobacco  be 
used  in  the  smoker,  even  in  the  smallest  quantities. 

HOW  TO  OPEN  A  HIVE. 

Having  adjusted  the  veil,  and  having  the  smoker  well  going,  blow  one 
or  two  puffs  of  smoke  into  the  entrance  of  the  hive  to  be  opened.  Do  this 
with  a  good  strong  closing  of  the  smoker  bellows  so  as  to  drive  the  smoke 
thoroughly  into  every  part  of  the  hive.  This  does  not  mean  that  the  bees 
should  be  deluged  with  smoke.  All  that  is  required  is  that  each  bee  in 
the  hive  should  get  a  whiff,  however  light  it  may  be.  Next  grasp  the  hive 
cover  by  one  end  and  gently  raise  it,  blowing  a  puff  or  two  of  smoke  into 
the  crevice  thus  made.  In  the  majority  of  cases  this  will  be  sufficient, 
and  further  smoke  will  be  unnecessary.  In  case  while  working  with  them 
they  fly  out  and  attempt  to  sting,  a  little  more  smoke  may  be  blown  into 
the  hive  from  above.  On  general  principles  no  more  smoke  should  be 
used  than  is  necessary  to  prevent  them  from  stinging.  Smoke  demoral- 
izes the  bees  and  as  considerable  time  is  required  for  them  to  recover 
from  a  severe  smoking,  much  time  and  consequently  honey,  is  lost  by 
them.  As  soon  as  smoke  enters  the  hive  and  the  bees  are  disturbed  the 
majority  of  the  workers  go  to  the  unsealed  honey  and  proceed  to  fill  up, 
presumably  on  the  supposition  that  their  home  is  about  to  be  destroyed, 
and  in  being  compelled  to  leave  they  propose  to  take  with  them  as  much 
of  their  treasure  as  possible.  When  a  bee  is  well  gorged  with  honey  it 
will  show  no  disposition  to  sting,  and  where  exceptionally  cross  colonies 
are  to  be  managed  they  will  be  found  more  docile  if  a  puff  of  smoke  is 
blown  into  the  entrance  about  five  minutes  previous  to  opening.  This 
will  give  the  bees  time  to  gorge  themselves  with  honey  and  they  will  not 
be  as  pugnacious  as  they  otherwise  would  be.  In  opening  the  hive,  if  the 
cover  sticks,  do  not  jerk  it  off,  but  use  a  small  screw  driver,  pocket  knife, 
or  other  instrument  to  gently  pry  it.  Having  removed  the  cover,  jar  the 
bees  off  in  front  of  the  hive,  turn  the  cover  on  edge  or  end  and  sit  down 
on  it.  Now  gently  push  the  frames  apart,  or,  if  stuck  tightly,  pry  them 
apart  with  chisel  or  knife  and  lift  out  the  one  that  is  to  be  examined. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  where  the  cover  joins  the  hive  and  where  the 
frames  touch  each  other  and  the  ends  of  the  hive,  is  found  a  grayish  yel- 
low substance  of  a  very  adhesive  nature.  This  is  "propolis,"  or  bee  glue, 


A.  AND  M.   COLLEGE  APIARY. 


29 


which  is  gathered  from  various  plants  and  flowers  and  is  used  as  a  cement 
for  making  secure  all  parts  and  for  sealing  up  all  openings  and  crevices  in 
the  hive,  except,  of  course,  the  entrance.  It  is  this  that  sometimes  causes 
the  cover  to  adhere  tightly  and  the  frames  to  stick  together.  Lift  the 
frame  by  the  ends  of  the  top  bars  and  keep  the  entire  frame  vertical,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  8.  When  it  is  desired  to  examine  the  reverse  side  of  it 
turn  it  up  on  end,  without  changing  the  hold,  and  always  keeping  the 
comb  in  a  vertical  plane;  next  revolve  the  frame  through  a  half -circle, 
using  the  top  bar  as  a  pivot  (see  Fig.  9).  The  reverse  side  will  now  be 
towards  the  operator  and  can  be  examined  at  leisure.  This  method  of 
handling  is  to  prevent  any  possibility  of  the  comb  breaking  or  sagging, 
and  is  especially  necessary  in  hot  weather  and  when  combs  are  not  wired. 
It  is  based  upon  the  very  simple  principle  that  the  comb  hanging  directly 
down  from  the  top  bar,  or  supported  by  the  top  bar  when  reversed,  is  not 
nearly  so  liable  to  sag  as  when  the  comb  is  held  in  a  horizontal  plane  sup- 


Fig.  8.— Handling  frames— first  position. 
( From  A.  I.  Root,  A  B  C  of  Bee  Culture.) 


Fig.  9.— Handling  frames 
— second  position.  (From 
A.  I.  Root,  A  B  G  of 
Bee  Culture.) 

ported  by  the  top  bar  at  one  edge  only.  If  the  colony  is  in  prime  condi- 
tion plenty  of  bees  will  be  found  clustered  on  all  combs,  the  two  frames 
next  the  outside  of  the  hive  will  be  found  filled  with  honey,  much  of  it 
sealed,  aud  the  ends,  and  about  one  or  two  inches  along  the  tops  of  an 
other  combs  will  also  contain  honey.  In  the  central  frames  of  the  hive 
will  be  found  sealed  larvae,  which,  by  its  even  surface  and  dark-brown 
color,  is  readily  distinguished  from  the  sealed  honey,  unsealed  larvae  and 
eggs,  each  of  the  latter  being  attached  by  its  end  to  the  bottom  of  the 
cell.  This  part  of  the  hive  containing  eggs  and  larvae  is  designated  as 
the  "brood  nest"  of  the  queen  and  in  it  or  near  its  outer  edge  she  will 
usually  be  found.  At  times  she  appears  to  take  little  excursions  to  the 
most  remote  parts  of  the  hive,  probably  by  way  of  exploration,  and  may 
be  found  in  a  remote  corner.  Especially  if  much  smoke  has  been  used 
in  opening  the  hive  the  queen  will  become  alarmed  and  make  every  effort 
to  elude  the  operator  by  running  from  comb  to  comb,  dodging  around 
corners  of  the  frames,  and  crowding  under  thick  clusters  of  bees.  A  little 
practice  will  enable  the  bee  keeper  to  locate  her  easily.  The  brood  nest 
may  cover  the  greater  part  of  seven  or  eight  frames  during  the  height  of 


30  A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY. 

the  honey  season,  and  from  this  number  of  frames  on  down  w  one  or  two, 
in  the  case  of  a  dearth  of  honey.  During  the  winter  season  very  little  or 
no  brood  will  be  found.  In  cases  of  severe  drouth,  also,  the  queen  some- 
times entirely  ceases  egg  deposition. 

After  examining  the  colony  the  frames  should  be  replaced  in  the  same 
order  in  which  they  were  previous  to  dpening  in  order  that  the  brood 
nest  of  the  queen  shall  not  be  disorganized.  Having  the  frames  all 
replaced,  push  them  over  against  one  side  of  the  hive,  as  close  as  they  will 
go,  and  as  close  to  each  other  as  the  Y-shaped  projections  will  allow. 
They  will  then  be  correctly-  "spaced"  without  further  attention.  This 
will  of  course  apply  only  to  the  Hoffman  or  other  self-spacing  frame. 
In  some  localities  the  "all-wood"  frame  is  used  extensively.  These  lat- 
ter are  not  provided  with  any  self-spacing  device  and  must  be  placed  the 
proper  distance  apart  (one-fourth  inch)  by  the  operator.  Their  only 
advantage  lies  in  the  fact  that  they  are  a  trifle  .cheaper  than  the  Hoffman 
frame,  but  the  time  lost  in  spacing  them  correctly  is  worth  more  than 
the  additional  cost  of  the  Hoffman.  The  hive  after  each  opening  should 


•Fig.  10— Hive  stand.     (After  A.  I.  Root  Co.) 


Fig.  11. — Combined  bottom  board  and   hive  stand. 
(After  A.  I.  Root  Co.) 


be  carefully  closed,  pains  being  taken  to  see  that  no  cracks  or  openings 
are  left  between  the  hive  and  cover  through  which  robbers  might  enter. 
In  windy  weather  a  brick  or  rock  should  be  placed  on  top  of  cover. 

LOCATION  OF  HIVES  AND  APIARY. 

The  best  location  for  an  apiary  is  in  a  shady  grove  of  deciduous  trees, 
where  the  branches  are  sufficiently  high  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  the 
flight  of  the  bees,  or  to  catch  upon  the  veil,  or  in  any  way  interfere  with 
the  work  about  the  apiary.  A  peach  orchard  is  an  ideal  location,  care 
being  taken  to  have  each  hive  located  upon  the  north  side  of  a  tree  or 
bush  so  that  it  will  be  shaded  during  the  greater  part  of  the  day.  Each 
hive  should  be  slightly  raised  from  the  ground,  either  by  means  of  bricks 
or  scantlings,  or,  better  still,  by  a  hive-stand,  such  as  is  shown  in  Fig.  10. 
The  hive  should  also  slope  towards  the  front  or  entrance — a  drop  of 
one-half  to  one  inch  being  sufficient.  A  "combined  bottom-board  and 
hive-stand"  (see  Fig.  11)  is  used  by  many  bee  keepers.  With  this  the 
hive  may  be  set  level,  and  yet  the  inclined  bottom-board  will  give  the  nec- 
essary slope  to  carry  off  all  water  that  may  enter  the  hive  during  rains. 
All  grass  and  weeds  around  the  hive,  and  especially  in  front  of  the  en- 


A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY.  31 

trance,  should  be  kept  cleaned  away.  As  to  the  plan  of  location,  a  great 
latitude  of  choice  is  allowable.  It  is  important,  however,  that  hives  hav- 
ing entrances  facing  in  the  same  direction  should  not  be  nearer  to  each 
other  than  ten  feet.  Hives  may  be  faced  in  any  direction,  but  a  north 
face  is  least  preferable.  East  is  perhaps  the  best  of  all,  and  as  a  second 
choice  south  should  follow.  Mr.  Louis  H.  Scholl,  of  Hunter,  Texas,  has 
found  a  southeast  face  to  give  the  best  results.  By  such  an  entrance  the 
morning  sun  strikes  the  hive  squarely  and  warms  it  early.  Later  in  the 
day  the  rays  do  not  strike  either  the  side  or  end  directly  until  late  in  the 
afternoon,  but  at  more  or  less  of  an  angle,  making  the  heat  within  less  in- 
tense. In  some  cases  it  is  found  necessary  to  place  some  of  the  hives  in 
direct  sunlight,  in  which  case  a  "shade-board"  should  always  be  placed 
on  such  hives.  This  shade  board  may  be  of  any  design,  so  that  it  pro- 
jects beyond  the  cover  of  the  hive  for  a  few  inches  in  every  direction. 
Such  a  board  will  also  give  better  protection  from  the  heat  if  it  be  raised 
by  means  of  cleats  above  the  hive  cover,  so  as  to  allow  a  circulation  of  air 
beneath  it.  In  no  case  should  this  board  be  attached  to  the  cover,  but 
should  be  merely  laid  upon  it,  so  as  to  be  readily  removable.  If  any 
device  is  needed  to  prevent  wind  from  blowing  it  off,  a  rock  or  other 
weight  will  suffice. 

APPARATUS  NECESSARY  FOR  EXTENSIVE  WORK, 

While  the  outfit  described  above  will  suffice  for  the  small  bee  keeper 
who  is  producing  honey  for  his  own  use,  and  only  a  limited  amount  for 
sale,  yet  he  will  find  that  there  are  a  number  of  implements  very  con- 
venient; and  in  case  he  intends  enlarging  his  apiary  ultimately,  imple- 
ments that  are  necessary  in  saving  time  and  in  putting  his  products  into 
marketable  shape.  A  few  of  these  will  here  be  mentioned.  A  honey 
extractor  is  one  of  the  most  useful  and  labor-saving  devices  yet  invented 
for  the  bee  keeper.  Its  purpose  is  to  extract  the  liquid  honey  from  the 
combs,  so  that  the  latter  may  be  returned  to  the  bees  to  be  again  filled  by 
them.  This  saves  much  time  during  the  height  of  a  honey  flow.  As  it 
requires  several  pounds  of  honey  to  make  a  single  pound  of  comb,  it  will 
be  seen  that  much  honey  is  saved  by  thus  using  the  same  combs  over  and 
over  again.  The  honey  extractor  is  constructed  on  the  same  principle  as 
is  the  cream  separator,  i.  e.,  centrifugal  force.  The  extractor  consists  of 
a  galvanized  iron  can  having  within  it  two,  four,  or  more  pockets,  each  of 
which  will  receive  a  frame  or  comb  of  honey.  These  pockets  are  mounted 
upon  a  frame  pivoted  at  top  and  bottom,  so  that  it  can  be  revolved  rapidly 
by  means  of  attached  gearing  and  handle.  The  rapid  motion  throws  out 
the  honey  from  the  outer  cells  of  the  comb,  whence  it  runs  down  the  sides 
of  the  extractor  and  is  drawn  off  through  a  gate  below.  The  frames  are 
now  reversed  or  turned  with  the  other  face  to  the  outside  of  the  extractor 
and  the  frame  is  again  revolved,  throwing  out  all  the  honey.  The  comb 
is  now  ready  to  be  returned  to  the  hive.  Honey  extractors  are  manu- 
factured in  various  styles  and  sizes  adapted  to  more  or  less  extensive 
work.  A  well-built  extractor,  capable  of  holding  two  combs  at  a  time, 
such  as  is  shown  in  Fig.  12,  is  amply  large  enough  for  an  apiary  of  100 
colonies  or  less.  Along  with  the  extractor  a  honey  knife  or  "uncapping 
knife"  will  be  needed  for  cutting  comb,  cleaning,  and  especially  for  shav- 
ing off  the  cappings  of  the  sealed  honey  before  extracting.  Such  a  knife 


32 


A.    AND    M.     COLLKGK    APIARY. 


Fig.  13.— Bingham  honey  knife. 
I.  Root  Co.) 


(After  A. 


Fig.  12,— 2-irame  honey  extrac- 
tor.   (After  A.  I.  Root  Go. ) 


Is  shown  is  Fig.  13.  Next  in  importance  comes  the  "solar  wax  extractor" 
for  reducing  combs  and  scrapings  to  wax.  This  consists  of  a  box  cov- 
ered with  glass,  and  having  inside  it  a  metal  tray  painted  black,  into 
which  the  combs  are  dropped.  At  the  lower  end  of  this  tray  are  one  or 
more  tin  vessels  for  catching  wax  and  honey.  When  placed  in  the  sun 
the  heat  of  the  latter  melts  the  comb  and  allows  all  honey  and  the  greater 
part  of  the  wax  contained  to  run  down  into  the  vessels  below,  from  which 
they  can  be  taken  at  leisure.  After  being  allowed  to  cool  the  wax  in  the 
pans  will  solidify  and  can  be  taken  out  in  cakes.  This  wax  extractor 
should  be  kept  in  the  apiary  exposed  to  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  at  all 
times  and  into  it  should  be  thrown  all  old  broken  combs,  scrapings  of 
wax,  etc.  The  wax  obtained  in  this  way  will  in  a  short  time  pay  for  the 
original  cost  of  the  device.  One  of  the  smaller  sized  wax  extractors,  suit- 


jFig.  14. — Doolittle  solar  wax  extractor. 
C After  A.  I.  Root  Co.) 


Fig.   15.— Porter  bee-escape, 
A.  I.  Root  Co.) 


(After 


A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY.  33 

able  for  an  apiary  of  forty  colonies  or  less,  is  shown  in  Fig.  14.  The  bee- 
escape,  illustrated  in  Fig.  15,  should  be  placed  at  the  tops  of  all  screen 
doors  and  windows  of  the  extracting  house  to  allow  the  escape  of  bees 
carried  in  on  combs. 

Other  apparatus,  such  a?  shipping  cases,  wax  presses,  etc.,  will  suggest 
themselves  to  the  bee  keeper  as  he  progresses  in  experience  and  as  his 
apiary  increases  in  size. 

TRANSFERRING. 

The  bee  keeper  having  his  bees  in  box  hives  or  wishing  to  secure  a  col- 
ony from  a  bee  tree  will  desire  information  on  transferring  them  into  a 
frame  hive.  The  "Heddon  method"  of  transferring  is  perhaps  the  sim- 
plest and  easiest  for  the  amateur.  This  is  described  by  the  A.  I.  Root 
Co.  as  follows : 

"We  will  assume  that  your  hive  or  hives,  having  been  received  in  the 
flat,  are  put  together  and  painted,  and  contain  frames  of  wired  founda- 
tion ready  for  the  bees.  Light  your  smoker  and  put  on  your  bee  veil. 
Move  the  old  hive  back  four  or  five  feet,  and  put  the  new  hive  in  its  place. 
Prepare  a  small  box  about  eight  inches  deep,  and  one  side  open,  that  will 
just  cover  (not  slip  over)  the  bottom  of  the  box  hive.  Turn  it  upside 
down ;  set  the  hiving  box  over  it,  and  then  drum  on  the  sides  of  the  hive 
with  a  couple  of  sticks  until  about  two-thirds  of  the  bees  pass  up  into  the 
box.  Gently  lift  off  the  box  containing  the  bees,  and  dump  it  in  front  of 
the  entrance  of  the  new  hive.  Make  sure  that  the  queen  is  among  them, 
by  watching  for  her  as  she  passes  with  the  rest  into  the  entrance.  If  you 
do  not  discover  her  look  inside  the  hive.  If  you  still  fail  to  find  her, 
drum  out  bees  from  the  old  hive  again  until  you  do  get  her,  for,  to  make 
the  plan  a  success,  she  must  be  in  the  new  hive." 

"Return  to  the  box  hive  and  turn  it  right  side  up  and  set  it  down  a 
couple  of  feet  back  of  the  new  one,  with  its  entrance  turned  at  right 
angles.  You  now  have  in  the  hive  about  one-third  of  the  original  colony, 
the  combs,  and  all  the  brood.  Allow  the  old  hive  to  stand  for  at  least 
twenty-one  days,  at  the  end  of  which  time  the  brood  will  be  hatched  out, 
with  the  exception  of  a  little  drone  brood,  which  will  be  of  no  value. 
Turn  the  hive  upside  down  and  drum  the  bees  out  again  into  the  hiving 
box,  after  which  dump  it  in  front  of  the  entrance  to  the  new  hive  as  be- 
fore. If  the  queen  in  the  new  hive  is  one  you  wish  to  keep,  put  an 
entrance  guard  over  the  entrance  to  catch  the  young  queen  hatched  in 
the  meantime  in  the  old  hive,  for  she  would  go  in  and  one  or  the  other 
would  be  destroyed.  If  there  is  no  choice  of  queens  let  the  second  drive 
of  bees  go  in  and  the  queens  will  fight  it  out.  Your  job  of  transferring 
is  now  completed,  and  all  you  have  on  hand  is  an  old  box  hive  containing 
a  lot  of  crooked  combs,  with  perhaps  a  little  honey  and  drone  brood  in  it. 
The  honey  can  be  extracted,  or  used  for  chunk  honey  on  the  table,  if  fit 
for  use." 

This  method,  however,  must  never  be  used  except  during  a  strong  honey 
flow,  when  the  bees  of  other  hives  are  busy  gathering  honey  in  the  fields. 
At  any  other  time  the  box  hive,  after  the  bees  are  removed,  will  be  at- 
tacked by  robbers — bees  from  other -hives — the  brood  killed,  and  all  honey 
carried  away.  Aside  from  the  damage  done  directly,  a  bad  case  of  rob- 
bing may  seriously  demoralize  the  entire  yard  and  result  disastrously. 

3-A 


34  A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY. 

Another  and  better  method  is  to  cut  out  the  combs  from  the  box  hive, 
selecting  the  straightest  of  them,  fit  into  the  frames  and  fasten  them 
there  by  wrapping  with  a  light  cotton  cord.  Replace  these  frames  in  the 
new  hive,  which  should  now  be  located  on  the  former  location  of  the  box 
hive,  and  the  bees  shaken  into  it  or  dumped  in  front  of  it.  By  this 
method,  with  reasonable  care,  robbing  is  prevented  and  all  honey  and 
brood  is  saved,  as  well  as  time  saved  the  bees  in  constructing  new  comb. 

ROBBING. 

If  bits  of  honey  be  dropped  about  the  apiary,  or  left  where  bees  can 
obtain  access  to  them,  this  will  start  what  is  termed  "robbing."  The  bees 
finding  this-  honey  will  gather  it  up  and  carry  it  away  to  their  respective 
hives.  When  this  supply  is  exhausted  they  will  greedily  search  for  more, 
and  if  none  is  to  be  found  will  attack  some  adjacent  hive.  If  the  colony 
in  the  latter  is  weak,  the  invaders  will  conquer,  killing  a  majority  of  the 
rightful  occupants,  destroy  the  brood,  and  carry  off  the  honey.  If  the 
attacked  colony  is  strong  a  pitched  battle  ensues,  the  result  of  which  will 
be  hundreds  of  dead  bees  on  both  sides,  even  though  the  robbers  be  re- 
pulsed. Once  in  the  habit  of  robbing,  this  habit  is  liable  to  be  kept  up 
for  days  or  even  weeks.  Whenever  a  hive  is  opened  the  robbers  are  on 
hand  and  immediately  plunge  in.  For  this  reason  no  honey  should  ever 
be  left  exposed  and  during  a  dearth  of  honey  hives  should  not  be  kept 
open  longer  than  is  absolutely  necessary. 

When  robbing  has  once  started,  the  entrances  of  all  adjacent  hives,  and 
especially  of  the  hive  being  attacked,  should  be  closed  down  to  a  small 
aperture.  Wet  grass  or  weeds  thrown  over  the  entrance  of  the  attacked 
hive  will  also  assist  its  inmates  in  repelling  the  robbers. 

PREPARATION  OF  BEES  FOR  WINTER 

In  the  Texas  climate,  extensive  preparations  for  winter  are  unneces- 
sary, except  that  all  colonies  should  be  strong  in  numbers,  be  in  tight 
weather-proof  hives,  and  have  ample  stores  of  honey.  These  three  re- 
quirements, however,  hold  good  at  all  times.  The  careful  and  often 
extensive  wintering  preparations  of  the  North,  such  as  packing  with  chaff 
cushions,  placing  in  cellar,  etc.,  are  here  unnecessary.  At  approach  of 
cold  weather  the  entrances  should  be  closed  down  to  a  small  opening, 
depending  in  size  upon  the  severity  of  cold  and  the  strength  of  the  col- 
ony, to  better  enable  the  bees  to  maintain  the  temperature  of  the  hive. 

FEEDING. 

If  deficient  in  numbers  or  in  stores  in  the  autumn,  and  no  fall  honey 
flow  comes  on,  the  bees  should  be  fed  both  to  stimulate  brood  rearing  and 
especially  to  furnish  supplies  for  winter.  While  there  are  a  number  of 
devices  for  this  purpose,  the  one  which  has  given  best  results  and  the  one 
which  does  not  in  any  way  encourage  robbing,  is  the  one  called  the  Doo- 
little  or  ^division-board"  feeder,  illustrated  in  Fig.  16.  This  consists 
of  a  trough  having  in  its  top  a  half  inch  auger  hole;  this  trough  or 
feeder  is  placed  in  the  hive,  in  place  of  one  of  the  lateral  frames.  Feed 
should  be  made  of  one  part  granulated  sugar  and  two  parts  of  water. 


A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY.  35 

The  syrup  should  not  be  heated  in  making.  By  stirring  the  water  and 
adding  the  sugar  slowly  the  latter  will  be  found  to  dissolve  readily.  The 
bees  should  be  fed  each  evening  at  or  a  short  time  before  sunset.  In 
feeding,  take  off  hive  cover,  insert  a  funnel  into  the  opening  in  top  of 
feeder  and  pour  in  the  syrup.  When  feeding  to  stimulate  brood  rearing 
about  one  pint  of  the  syrup  should  be  fed  daily,  and  the  amount  grad- 
ually increased  as  the  colony  increases  in  bees  and  brood.  When  feeding 
for  stores  alone,  the  syrup  should  be  made  of  one  part  sugar  to  one  part 
water,  and  can  be  fed  in  larger  quantities;  in  fact,  fed  as  rapidly  as 
the  bees  will  remove  it  and  store  in  the  combs. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Uvalde,  Texas,  when  feeding  for  stores,  the  bee  keep- 
ers use  "peloncellos,"  a  sugar  manufactured  in  Mexico,  from  cane,  with- 
out being  in  any  way  refined.  Cones  of  this  sugar,  weighing  about  thir- 
teen ounces  each,  are  placed  in  an  empty  super  above  the  brood  nest,  and 
the  bees  allowed  to  help  themselves.  According  to  Mr.  J.  K.  Hill,  of 
Uvalde,  this  sugar  does  not  stimulate  brood  rearing  when  fed  in  this  way. 
As  a  feed,  it  is  cheaper  than  cane  sugar,  costing  about  3J  to  4  cents  per 
pound. 

The  careful  bee  keeper  will  at  no  time  of  the  year  allow  his  colonies 


Fig.  16.— Division-board  feeder.    (After  A.  I. 
Root  Co.) 

to  run  short  of  stores.  During  the  summer  season,  in  case  of  all  honey 
in  a  hive  becoming  exhausted,  the  colony  invariably  swarms  out  and 
hunts  for  a  new  location,  thus  being  lost. 

THE   HONEY   FLOW. 

During  the  spring  many  native  plants,  trees  and  vines  yield  an  abund- 
ance of  nectar.  This  is  termed  the  "honey  flow"  by  bee  keepers.  The 
honey  flow  in  Texas  may  occur  any  time  between  February  15th  and 
May  15th,  and  in  duration  may  last  from  two  weeks  to  three  months  or 
longer,  according  to  locality  and  season.  Honey  flows  are  designated 
as  "spring,"  "late  summer,"  or  "autumn,"  according  to  the  season  in 
which  they  occur,  the  spring  honey  flow  being  the  most  important.  As 
soon  as  the  weather  becomes  warm  enough  for  the  bees  to  fly,  and  the 
flowers  commence  yielding  nectar,  brood  rearing  is  begun  in  the  hives. 
As  the  flow  of  honey  increases,  more  and  more  eggs  are  deposited  by  the 
queen,  and  the  working  force  of  the  colony  increases  rapidly.  If  the 
colony  is  not  at  least  of  medium  strength  at  the  beginning  of  the  honey 
flow,  it  will  not  attain  its  "working  strength"  in  time  to  store  much 
•of  the  surplus  honey.  As  soon  as  weather  will  permit  in  the  spring  all 
•colonies  should  be  examined  and  those  found  weak  should  be  fed  as  men- 

4— A 


36 


A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY. 


tioned  above  in  order  to  start  brood  rearing  and  thus  have  a  strong  force 
of  bees  on  hand  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  flow  if  possible.  Only  a 
strong  colony  will  store  honey  in  the  supers,  and  keeping  the  colonies 
strong  is  the  most  important  point  essential  to  success  in  the  production 
of  surplus  honey. 

SUPEES. 

As  soon  as  the  bees  in  gathering  honey  have  filled  up  the  hive-body 
with  brood  and  honey,  a  super  or  upper  story  should  be  given.  Supers 
are  of  various  kinds  and  styles,  according  to  the  form  in  which  the  sur- 
plus honey  is  desired.  If  "section  honey,"  that  is,  honey  stored  in  small 
frames  containing  a  pound  each — ready  for  market — is  desired,  a  sec- 
tion super  must  be  used.  Two  main  types  of  sections  are  in  common 
use,  the  "bee-way  section"  and  the  "plain  section."  The  bee-way  sec- 
tion is  shown  in  Fig.  17. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  top. and  bottom  of  the  section  are  provided 
with  insets  or  bee-ways,  so  that  when  placed  side  by  side  in  the  super 


Fig.  1 8. — Hoffman  shallow  extracting  frame^ 
(After  A.  I.  Root  Co.) 


Fig.  17. — Bee-way  section.    (From  A.  I.  Root, 
A  B  C  of  Bee  Culture. ) 


there  will  be  a  bee-space  between  all  of  them  for  the  entrance  of  the 
bees  from  the  brood  chamber  below.  This  style  of  section  is  rapidly 
going  out  of  favor  and  being  replaced  by  the  plain  section.  The  latter 
differs  from  the  bee-way  section  in  lacking  an  inset  in  the  top  and  bot- 
tom, hence  its  name.  Instead,  between  each  row  of  sections  is  a  slatted 
"fence"  or  separator,  which  allows  of  free  communication  not  only  from 
one  row  of  sections  to  another,  but  from  section  to  section  in  the  same 
row.  This  has  the  advantage  of  allowing  the  bees  to  remain  in  an  almost 
continuous  cluster  among  the  sections  instead  of  in  almost  isolated  clus- 
ters as  in  the  bee-way  sections.  In  addition  to  this,  the  plain  sections  are 
narrower  by  just  the  depth  of  the  bee-space  in  the  bee-way  section,  and 
therefore  more  of  them  can  be  placed  in  a  super  at  a  time.  Plain  sections 
again  are  designated  as  "square"  (4^x4J  inches),  "Danzenbaker"  (4x5 
inches),  and  "Ideal"  (3fx5  inches).  Eegarding  the  relative  merits  of 
these,  space  will  not  be  taken  here  for  discussion ;  suffice  to  say,  that  each 
bee  keeper  has  his  choice  of  these  and  for  each  certain  advantages  can  be 
given. 

If  extracted  honey  is  to  be  produced  an  "extracting  super"  should  be 
used.    This  may  be  either  a  full  depth  hive-body — identical  with  the  one 


A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY.  37 

used  for  brood  chamber — or  it  may  be  a  "shallow  extracting  super"  con- 
taining shallow  extracting  frames  such  as  is  shown  in  Fig.  18.  These 
frames  differ  only  from  the  regular  Hoffman  frames  in  that  they  are 
but  5f  inches  deep.  Where  the  full  depth  extracting  super  is  used  the 
frames  should  all  be  wired,  but  in  the  shallow  extracting  super  this  is 
unnecessary. 

In  Texas  and  throughout  the  Indian  Territory,  the  popular  demand 
is  not  for  extracted  honey,  or  for  section  honey,  but  for  what  is  termed 
"chunk"  or  "bulk  comb"  honey.  This  is  sealed  comb  honey  packed 
usually  in  screw-top  cans  and  having  poured  over  it  plenty  of  extracted 
honey  to  fill  all  interstices  and  spaces  between  the  combs.  This  bulk 
comb  honey  is  not  known  except  in  the  territory  mentioned,  but  as  the 
popular  demand  is  for  honey  put  up  in  this  way,  it  will  be  to  the  interest 
of  the  bee  keeper  to  produce  it.  It  has  the  added  advantage  that  it 
requires  less  skill  in  manipulation,  less  work,  and  its  advocates  claim 
that  during  a  given  honey  flow  they  can  produce  more  of  it  than  of  sec- 
tion honey,  and  almost  as  much  as  of  extracted  honey.  In  price  it 
varies  between  that  of  comb  honey  and  extracted  honey,  and  for  the  bee 
keeper  is  the  most  profitable  to  produce.  Its  popularity  doubtless  lies  in 
the  fact  that  it  is  comb  honey  with  honey  on  both  sides — outside  and 
inside. 

Eegardless  of  which  of  the  three  varieties  of  honey  the  bee  keeper 
produces — whether  extracted,  section,  or  bulk  comb,  he  must  adhere 
firmly  to  certain  principles  if  he  would  obtain  the  maximum  amount  of 
honey.  As  soon  as  the  white  "brace  combs"  or  bits  of  wax  begin  to  ap- 
pear at  the  tops  of  the  brood  frames,  the  super  should  be  placed  upon  the 
hive.  Eegardless  of  whether  it  contains  sections  or  extracting  frames, 
these  should  contain  full  sheets  of  foundation — or  at  least  starters,  which 
are  merely  narrow  strips  of  foundation  in  the  frames  or  sections,  instead 
of  full-sized  sheets.  If  possible,  a  frame  of  unsealed  honey,  or  a  few 
partially  filled  sections  saved  over  from  the  previous  season,  or  taken 
from  another  colony,  should  be  placed  in  each  super.  These  "baits" 
will  induce  the  bees  to  enter  the  supers  and  commence  work  much  sooner 
than  they  otherwise  would.  In  case  a  colony  obstinately  refuses  to  go  to 
work  in  the  super,  take  an  entire  super — bees  and  all,  from  another 
colony  during  the  middle  of  the  day,  and  place  on  the  obstinate  colony, 
at  the  same  time  transferring  the  empty  super  to  the  other  colony.  This 
exchanging  of  supers  will  in  the  majority  of  cases  start  them  to  work  in 
good  shape.  As  soon  as  the  first  super  is  about  half  filled,  lift  it  up  and 
insert  another  empty  one  beneath  it.  By  the  time  this  is  half  filled,  or 
over,  the  upper  one  should  be  nearly  or  completely  finished  and  capped.. 
This  process  of  "tiering  up"  may  be  continued  until  the  honey  flow  i& 
nearly  over,  but  extreme  care  must  be  exercised  or  a  number  of  unfin- 
ished sections  or  unsealed  honey  will  result.  Before  being  removed  from 
the  hive  all  honey  should  be  sealed.  This  indicates  that  it  is  sufficiently 
evaporated  or  "ripened"  so  that  it  will  keep.  If  sufficient  supers  are  not 
on  hand  to  tier  up  during  the  entire  honey  flow,  it  will  of  course  be 
necessary  to  extract  from  time  to  time,  or  remove  the  filled  sections  and 
substitute  empty  ones  in  their  place.  The  same  will  hold  true  of  those 
localities  with  an  exceptionally  heavy  flow.  In  no  case  should  honey  be 
taken  off  before  sealed,  as  by  so  doing  its  keeping  qualities  will  be 
impaired  and  it  will  later  turn  sour  or  spoil. 


38  A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY. 

CLEANLINESS. 

Throughout  the  entire  honey  flow,  while  preparing  the  honey  for  mar- 
ket, and  in  fact  at  all  times,  the  utmost  cleanliness  should  be  observed. 
In  many  cases  the  extracting  houses  of  bee  keepers  present  a  sight  that 
is  far  from  inviting  to  the  prospective  purchaser  of  honey.  Rusty  and 
dirty  extractors,  dead  bees,  decaying  and  moth-eaten  combs,  and  in  some 
cases  frames  of  decaying  brood  greet  the  eyes  of  the  visitor.  Such  sights 
will  destroy  the  taste  and  desire  for  honey  regardless  of  "the  purity  of 
nature's  sweet."  There  is  absolutely  no  question  but  that  the  unclean- 
liness  and  lack  of  neatness  tolerated  by  many  bee. keepers  immensely 
injure  the  local  demand  for  their  products,  and  on  the  price  of  honey 
as  a  whole  exert  a  depressing  influence.  Producers  of  honey  have  no 
cause  to  complain  of  "low  prices"  so  long  as  they  fail  to  put  up  an  arti- 
cle that  "for  cleanliness  and  wholesomeness  is  unexcelled."  An  extract- 
ing house  with  an  amount  of  dirt  about  it  that  would  be  a  disgrace  to 
a  plug  tobacco  factory  will  drive  away  the  most  enthusiastic  customer 
with  an  utter  disgust  for  honey  in  any  form.  While  it  may  be  hopeless 
to  try  to  reform  some  of  the  men  who  have  followed  this  practice  for 
years,  yet  we  would  caution  the  beginner,  both  for  his  own  profit  and 
for  the  good  of  the  industry  as  a  whole,  to  adhere  to  cleanliness  through- 
out, in  every  detail. 

PREPARING   HONEY   FOR   MARKET. 

Closely  connected  with  taking  off  the  honey  crop,  is  the  work  of  pre- 
paring honey  for  market.  Sections  should  have  all  propolis  scraped  from 
sides  and  edges  so  as  to  present  as  clean  and  neat  an  appearance  as  pos- 
sible. The  sections  should  then  be  "graded."  While  there  is  more  or 
less  variation  in  grading  rules  according  to  locality,  the  following  rules, 
taken  from  "Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture,"  are  to  be  commended: 

Grading   Rules. 

"Fancy. — All  sections  to  be  well  filled,  combs  straight,  firmly  attached 
to  all  four  sides,  the  combs  unstained  by  travel-stain  or  otherwise;  all 
the  cells  sealed  except  an  occasional  cell,  the  outside  surface  of  the  wood 
well  scraped  of  propolis. 

"A  No.  1. — All  sections  well  filled  except  the  row  of  cells  next  to  the 
wood;  combs  straight;  one-eighth  part  of  comb  surface  slightly  soiled; 
the  outside  of  the  wood  well  scraped  of  propolis. 

"No.  1. — All  sections  well  filled  except  the  row  of  cells  next  the  wood; 
combs  comparatively  even;  one-eighth  part  of  comb  surface  soiled,  or 
the  entire  surface  slightly  soiled. 

"No.  2. — Three-fourths  of  the  total  surface  must  be  filled  and  sealed. 

"No.  3. — Must  weigh  at  least  half  as  much  as  a  full  weight  section. 

"In  addition  to  this,  the  honey  is  to  be  classified  according  to  color, 
using  the  terms  white,  amber  and  dark;  that  is,  there  will  be  'Fancy 
White,'  'No.  1  Dark/  etc." 

Only  Fancy,  A  No.  1,  and  No.  1  should  be  shipped,  and  even  for  local 
demand  it  is  advisable  to  give  the  customer  the  best  grade  possible.  No. 
2  can  be  used  as  table  honey  by  the  bee  keeper  himself,  or  together  with 


A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY. 


39 


the  No.  3  sections  carefully  preserved  for  use  as  baits  the  following 
spring.  Under  the  head  of  "production  of  section  honey,"  the  use  of 
these  sections  was  mentioned.  While  they  could  be  converted  into 
extracted  honey  and  wax,  yet  their  value  in  persuading  bees  to  begin 
work  in  the  supers  is  too  great  to  permit  of  this.  They  should  be  care- 
fully kept  protected  from  the  wax-moth.  This  can  best  be  done  by  plac- 
ing the  super,  filled  with  No.  2  and  No.  3  sections,  over  a  strong  colony. 
Here  there  will  be  no  danger  of  freezing  and  they  will  be  perfectly  pro- 
tected from  the  moth. 

In  shipping  section  honey,  the  sections  should  be  packed  in  light  glass- 
front  shipping  cases,  as  shown  in  Fig.  19.  The  package  should  state 
clearly  and  neatly,  as  by  a  label  or  rubber  stamp,  the  grade  of  honey, 
name  and  address  of  the  producer,  and  when  possible  the  name  of  the 
plant  from  which  the  bulk  of  the  honey  has  been  made. 

Extracted  honey,  as  stated  on  a  previous  page,  should  be  taken  only 
from  sealed  comb.  While  there  are  a  very  few  cases  and  conditions 


Fig.  20.— Shipping  case  for  extracted 
honey.    (After  A.  I.  Root  Co.) 


Fig.  19  —Shipping  cases  filled  with  section  honey. 
(After  A.  I.  Boot  Co.) 


under  which  unsealed  honey  is  sufficiently  ripened  to  keep  indefinitely 
the  beginner  will  do  well  to  adhere  strictly  to  the  above  rule.  Extracted 
honey  is  packed  for  shipment  in  tin  cans  of  various  capacities;  the  60 
Ib.  (5  gallon)  size  being  the  one  in  most  extensive  use.  Two  of  these 
60  Ib.  cans  in  their  shipping  case  are  shown  in  Fig.  20.  Extracted 
honey  is  also  put  up  in  smaller  cans,  in  glass  jars  and  bottles;  and  in 
barrels  and  kegs.  It  is  not  here  necessary  to  discuss  these.  With 
extracted,  as  with  all  honey,  the  label  should  give  definitely  the  name 
and  address  of  the  producer.  Honey  not  so  labeled  is  always  open  to 
the  suspicion  of  being  adulterated.  * 

Bulk  comb  honey  is  best  packed  in  what  are  termed  "screw-top  cans/' 
which  differ  from  the  "extracted"  cans  above  mentioned  in  having  a 
large  opening  in  the  top,  as  large  in  fact  as  the  size  of  the  can  will 
allow.  Through  this  opening  the  comb  honey  is  packed  in  layers  until 
the  top  is  reached,  when  extracted  is  then  poured  in  to  fill  all  open  space 
between  the  combs.  The  opening  is  tightly  closed  by  means  of  a  screw- 
top. 

5— A 


40  A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY. 

Standard   Packages. 

Up  to  1902,  many  sizes  and  varieties  of  honey  cans  had  been  used, 
when  the  Texas  Bee  Keepers'  Association  adopted  as  standard  sized  cans 
the  three,  six,  twelve  and  sixty  pound  cans.  In  shipping,  the  three  and 
six  pound  cans  are  crated  in  cases  of  sixty  pounds  each;  while  the  twelve 
and  sixty  pound  cans  are  crated  in  cases  of  120  pounds.  This  standard 
should  be  strictly  adhered  to  to  prevent  confusion  in  weights  by  custo- 
mers and  shippers. 

MARKETING  HONEY. 

For  those  who  are  not  extensive  producers  of  honey,  it  is  best  to  create 
and  depend  upon  a  local  market.  Honey  is  esteemed  a  delicacy,  and  in 
every  locality  some  buyers  will  be  found.  If  the  bee  keeper  will  maintain 
strict  cleanliness  in  all  his  work,  offer  for  sale  only  honey  of  erood  flavor 
thoroughly  ripened,  and  advertise  to  a  small  extent,  he  will  have  no 
trouble  in  building  up  a  local  trade  at  good  prices.  Of  course  he  should 
at  all  times  give  full  or  liberal  weight  when  making  sales,  and  at  all 
times  be  perfectly  straightforward  and  make  no  misrepresentations. 
These  points  are  essential  to  success  in  any  line  of  business.  Where 
the  crop  is  so  heavy  that  it  cannot  be  disposed  of  locally,  the  honey  can 
be  sold  to  the  various  firms  who  make  a  business  of  buying  in  a  whole- 
sale way,  and  who  ship  direct  to  the  retailers.  In  other  words,  these 
firms  are  "honey  jobbers,"  and  must  not  be  confused  with  commission 
men.  The  jobber  buys  at  a  specified  price  and  makes  his  profit  by  selling 
again  at  an  advanced  price.  The  commission  man  sells  the  honey  for  the 
producer  and  charges  a  certain  commission  for  his  services.  Of  the 
former  there  are  several  reliable  firms  in  our  State,  and  one  or  two  very 
unreliable  ones.  On  the  whole,  however,  it  is  better  to  sell  outright  to 
the  jobber  than  to  ship  to  commission  men,  unless,  of  course,  the  finan- 
cial standing  and  reputation  for  honesty  of  the  latter  are  unquestioned. 
The  commission  man  often  has  the  opportunity,  and  often  does  get 
for  the  bee  keeper  a  higher  price  than  if  the  honey  had  been  sold  to  the 
jobber,  but  in  many  cases  he  also  receives  a  lower  price.  Many  extensive 
bee  keepers  find  it  profitable  to  work  up  a  trade  with  grocers  and  others 
in  distant  as  well  as  local  towns,  thereby  combining  the  work  of  pro- 
duction with  that  of  wholesaling,  and  getting  the  profits  of  both. 

BEES   WAX. 

Bees  wax  is  a  product  of  the  bees,  and  makes  up  the  larger  part  of  the 
constituents  of  the  comb.  When  the  necessity  for  comb  building  occurs 
in  the  hive,  as  at  the  approach  of  the  swarming  season  and  the  honey 
flow,  a  greater  or  lesser  number  of  bees  gorge  themselves  with  honey 
and  cluster  from  the  top  of  trie  hive  or  upon  the  comb,  remaining  quietly 
for  some  time.  Presently  (varying  from  one-half  to  three  days,  accord- 
ing to  different  authorities)  little  scales  of  wax  appear  upon  the  under 
side  of  the  abdomen,  being  the  resulting  secretion  of  certain  glands 
located  at  that  point.  These  minute  scales  are  then  taken — probably 
in  the  majority  of  cases  by  other  bees,  and  carried  to  the  newly  building 
cells.  Here,  by  being  thoroughly  worked  up  and  mixed  with  secretions, 
they  are  added  to  the  foundation,  to  make  the  complete  comb,  or  built 


A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY.  41 

directly  into  comb  if  foundation  is  not  present.  Ordinary  comb  is  made 
up,  therefore,  largely,  but  not  entirely,  of  pure  wax.  In  working  about 
the  apiary  all  bits  of  comb,  whether  old  or  new,  spoiled  or  broken  foun- 
dation, burr  and  brace  combs,  and  all  such  should  be  placed  in  the  solar 
wax  extractor,  described  on  a  previous  page  under  the  head  of  "appa- 
ratus." These  small  savings  will  in  the  course  of  a  year  amount  to  con- 
siderable, and  will  more  than  pay  for  the  time  and  trouble  required.  In 
order  to  whiten  the  wax  and  make  it  more  presentable,  it  may  be  placed 
in  the  solar  wax  extractor  several  times  in  succession,  the  sun  having  a 
marked  bleaching  effect  upon  it.  Wax  is  in  good  demand  by  all  manu- 
facturers of  foundation  and  of  bee  supplies,  and  commands  a  ready  sale 
at  all  times.  Wax  should  never  be  adulterated  in  any  way.  Aside  from 
moral  reasons,  such  adulteration  is  readily  detected,  and  furthermore, 


Fig   21. — Root-German  Steam  Wax-press.    (After  A.  I.  Root  Co.) 

any  adulteration  renders  the  wax  entirely  worthless.  Space  will  not  be 
taken  here  to  discuss  the  various  adulterants  used  or  the  methods 
employed  in  detecting  them. 

While  the  solar  wax  extractor,  by  the  action  of  the  sun,  will  remove 
the  greater  part  of  the  wax,  a  portion  still  remains  in  the  refuse  or 
"slum-gum,"  as  it  is  called.  Until  comparatively  recently  no  efficient 
method  was  known  for  extracting  the  remaining  wax  from  the  slum- 
gum.  The  A.  I.  Eoot  Co.,  of  Medina,  Ohio,  have  recently  perfected  what 
is  known  as  the  "Eoot-German  Steam  Wax-press,"  which  by  the  applica- 
tion of  steam  and  pressure  simultaneously,  forces  the  greater  part  of  the 
wax  from  the  slum-gum.  The  machine  is  a  marked  success,  and  in 
apiaries  of  forty  colonies  or  over  will  soon  pay  for  itself  in  the  wax 
saved.  This  machine  is  shown  in  Fig.  21. 

SWARMING. 

All  forms  of  life,  that  they  may  not  become  extinct,  have  some 
method  of  reproduction.  In  the  case  of  the  greater  number  of  animals 


42  A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY. 

this  reproduction  is  merely  the  reproduction  of  individuals.  In  the  case 
of  bees  it  will  be  seen  that  the  increase  of  individuals  alone  would  only 
result  in  the  strengthening  or  maintenance  of  the  colony.  Were  repro- 
duction of  individuals  alone  the  only  method  of  increase,  the  species 
would  ultimately  become  extinct,  for  a  colony  under  natural  conditions 
cannot  exist  indefinitely.  In  all  forms  of  communistic  life  in  the  animal 
kingdom,  we  find  also  a  division  of  communiites  or  colonies.  In  the 
case  of  bees  this  division  takes  the  form  of  "swarming/7  and  will  be 
here  briefly  described.  In  the  spring  when  the  plants  are  yielding  plenty 
of  nectar  and  pollen,  the  combs  are  rapidly  being  filled  with  honey,  and 
the  young  bees  increasing  rapidly  within  the  hive,  the  bees  become  pos- 
sessed of  the  "swarming  fever."  Regarding  the  cause  or  nature  of  this 
but  little  is  understood  except  that  it  is  the  instinct  calling  for  a  division 
of  the  commonwealth.  The  changes  and  actions  that  take  place  within 
the  hive  at  such  a  time  are  well  understood,  however  remote  the  real 
nature  of  the  swarming  fever.  At  this  time  the  bees  evidently  prepare 


Fig.  22. — Queen  cells.     (From  Root,  after  Cheshire.) 

specially  constructed  cells,  in  which  the  queen  deposits  eggs,  these  eggs 
differing  in  no  way  from  those  which  regularly  produce  workers.  As  soon 
as  hatched,  the  young  larvae  in  these  cells  are  fed  by  the  nurse  bees  with  a 
special  food  designated  as  "royal  jelly."  Regarding  the  nature  and  com- 
position of  the  royal  jelly  little  is  known,  except  apparently  through  its 
influence  and  great  abundance  the  sexual  organs  of  the  larva  are  fully 
developed  during  growth  and  do  not  remain  rudimentary  and  useless  as 
in  the  case  of  the  worker  bee.  The  queen  cell  is  much  larger  than  the 
ordinary  cell,  and  is  elongated  so  as  to  form  a  cone-shaped  receptacle, 
very  easily  found  upon  the  comb,  usually  at  the  lower  edge  of  the  latter. 
(See  Fig.  22.)  The  queen  requires  a  shorter  time  for  development  than 
does  the  worker,  and  during  her  entire  larval  and  chrysalid  periods  is 
protected  by  the  bees  from  the  old  queen,  who,  if  permitted,  would 
destroy  her.  Nine  days  after  the  egg  is  deposited  the  queen  cell  is 
sealed  over  and  in  seven  days  more  the  perfect  queen  emerges.  At  this 
time,  and  frequently  before,  weather  conditions  being  favorable,  the  old 
queen  and  a  large  portion  of  the  bees  in  the  hive  swarm  out,  and  seek 
for  another  location.  Soon  after  leaving  the  hive  they  usually  cluster 


A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY.  43 

on  a  limb  or  bush,  and  remain  there  for  some  time,  varying  from  a  few 
minutes  to  several  hours.  It  is  supposed  that  while  thus  clustered  they 
send  out  scouts  to  find  a  suitable  location,  as  a  hollow  tree,  wherein  the 
new  colony  can  make  its  home.  This  habit  of  clustering  before  leaving 
definitely  makes  it  possible  for  the  apiarist  to  capture  the  new  swarm, 
although  in  some  cases  they  depart  from  the  apiary  without  showing  any 
inclination  to  cluster.  Evidence  is  at  hand,  also,  that  a  swarm  may 
wander  about  for  several  days  or  longer,  gradually  losing  in  numbers 
until  entirely  destroyed ;  or,  in  event  of  their  not  finding  a  suitable  loca- 
tion, will  sometimes  cluster  beneath  a  protecting  limb  and  there  con- 
struct combs  in  the  open  air  and  proceed  to  brood  rearing  and  honey 
storing. 

When  clustered  upon  a  limb  the  colony  is  easily  secured  by  cutting 
off  the  limb  upon  which  it  is  clustered  and  shaking  the  entire  swarm 


Fig.  23.—  Manum's  swarm-catcher.     (After  A.  I. 
Boot  Co.) 

off  onto  the  ground  in  front  of  the  hive  which  it  is  desired  they  should 
occupy.  This  hive  should  be  prepared  before  hand  and  placed  in  its 
permanent  location,  awaiting  the  swarming  time  of  the  bees.  The 
frames  should  all  contain  full  sheets  of  foundation,  wired,  and  when 
the  swarm  is  placed  in  the  hive  a  frame  of  brood,  without  bees,  should 
be  taken  from  another  colony  and  placed  therein.  This  will  insure 
their  remaining  in  the  new  hive.  The  super  should  also  be  placed  upon 
the  hive  at  once,  as  immediately  following  the  swarming  experience  the 
bees  repair  to  work  with  renewed  vigor.  Aside  from  the  method  above 
mentioned,  of  cutting  off  the  limb  upon  which  the  swarm  is  clustered, 
a  unique  and  effectual  device  for  capturing  swarms  is  the  "Manum 
Swarm-catcher/'  shown  in  Fig.  23.  This  consists  of  a  wire  basket  with 
a  hinged  cover,  the  entire  being  mounted  upon  the  end  of  a  long 
pole,  supplied  with  sharp-pointed  iron  legs  attached  a  few  feet  above 
the  lower  end.  The  basket  is  held  below  the  cluster,  given  a  sharp  jar 


44  A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY. 

against  the  limb  and  the  greater  portion  of  the  bees  are  thereby  shaken 
into  the  basket.  The  lid  is  now  closed,  either  by  hand  or  by  catching  it 
on  a  limb,  and  the  swarm  catcher  stood  up  in  such  a  manner  that  the 
basket  is  near  the  point  of  original  clustering.  After  being  allowed  to 
remain  here  for  a  few  minutes  the  bees  that  were  not  caught  inside  the 
basket  will  cluster  on  the  outside  and  the  entire  swarm  can  then  be  car- 
ried to  its  new  location. 

PREVENTION  AND  CONTROL  OF  SWARMING. 

The  control  of  swarming  is  closely  coupled  with  the  question  of  sur- 
plus honey  production.  Inasmuch  as  the  honey  gathering  ability  of  a 
colony  depends  primarily  upon  the  number  of  individuals  in  the  hive 
it  will  be  seen  that  it  is  of  decided  advantage  to  keep  all  colonies  as 
strong  in  numbers  as  possible.  Swarming  decreases  the  number  of  bees 
in  the  colony,  and  could  it  be  entirely  prevented  would  very  materially 
increase  the  honey  production.  Where  increase  is  desired  it  is  advisa- 
ble to  allow  each  colony  to  cast  one  swarm  a  season,  and  for  the  begin- 
ner we  would  not  advise  the  attempt  to  control  swarming  by  any  of  the 
numerous  methods  recommended  in  the  bee  journals.  None  of  them 
are  perfect,  and  considerable  loss  of  time  and  labor,  besides  confusion, 
may  result  to  the  inexperienced  bee  keeper  who  attempts  to  solve  this 
problem — which,  at  the  outset,  should  only  be  attempted  by  experienced 
apiarists.  The  most  practical  method  yet  devised  and  which  is  in  com- 
mon practice  by  many  bee  keepers  in  Texas,  is  known  as  the  "shook- 
swarm"  method.  Briefly,  this  is  as  follows :  When  the  swarming  fever 
is  fairly  on,  the  old  hive  is  removed  from  its  stand  and  an  entirely  new 
hive  put  in  its  place  containing  frames  with  full  sheets  of  foundation. 
The  super,  bees  and  all,  is  now  taken  from  the  old  hive,  and  placed 
upon  the  new.  The  combs  are  then  taken  from  the  old  hive  and  the 
bees  shaken  off  in  front  of  the  new  hive.  The  queen  is  also  placed  in 
the  new  hive.  The  old  hive,  containing  now  nothing  but  brood  in  all 
stages  and  a  few  bees,  is  placed  in  a  new  location,  the  entrance  narrowed 
down  to  a  small  aperture  and  left  to  itself.  The  bees  hatching  rapidly 
in  this  hive  will  care  for  the  brood  and  will  rear  a  queen  from  the  young 
larvae,  hence  at  the  end  of  21  days  we  will  have  a  complete  colony. 
Instead  of  allowing  the  bees  to  rear  a  queen,  a  mature  queen  or  a  matured 
queen  cell  (a  cell  in  which  the  queen  is  nearly  ready  to  emerge)  can  be 
given  this  colony. 

It  is  supposed  that  the  rough  handling,  shaking  and  the  entering1  of  a 
new  hive  in  a  way  satisfies  the  swarming  fever  of  the  bees,  and  upon 
this  point  apparently  rests  the  success  of  the  method.  It  will  also  be 
well  to  state  in  this  connection  that  swarming  can  be  to  a  great  extent 
discouraged  by  giving  an  abundance  of  storage  room  in  the  supers  at  the 
beginning  of  the  honey  flow.  The  gorging  of  the  hive  with  honey  is 
one  of  the  things  that  hastens  swarming  and  is  perhaps  one  of  its  prime 
causes. 

A  great  number  of  methods  for  preventing  swarming  will  be  found 
in  bee  journals  and  books,  but  none,  unless  it  be  the  divisible  brood 
chamber,  have  been  found  equal  to  the  shook  swarm  method  described 
above.  The  ^divisible  brood  chamber"  method,  which  depend^  upon  the 
manipulation  of  the  brood  nest  during  swarming  time,  promises  to  be 


A.    AND    M.     COLLKGE    APIARY. 


45 


successful,  but  has  not  as  yet  been  extensively  tested,  and  in  any  event 
is  only  adapted  to  the  expert  bee  keeper  who  thoroughly  understands  at 
all  times  the  conditions  prevailing  within  the  hive.  Where  natural 
swarming  is  allowed  by  the  bee  keeper,  several  plans  have  been  resorted 
to  with  success  to  prevent  the  issuing  swarms  from  leaving  the  apiary. 
Among  these  we  will  mention:  clipping  the  wings  of  the  old  queen,  the 
Alley  drone  and  queen  trap,  and  entrance  guards.  At  the  approach  of 
swarming  time  the  queen  in  each  hive  may  be  caught  and  the  outer  por- 
tion of  the  wing  on  one  side  clipped  off,  care  being  taken  not  to  cut  too 
close  to  the  body.  The  queen  should  always  be  picked  up  by  the  wings 
or  thorax  from  the  combs,  whether  for  clipping  or  not,  and  never  handled 
by  the  abodmen.  In  clipping  the  wings  hold  the  queen  between  the 
thumb  and  forefinger  of  the  left  hand,  grasping  her  by  the  thorax.  The 
outer  portion  of  the  wing  can  now  be  clipped  off  with  a  small  pair  of 
scissors,  and  the  queen  gently  replaced  upon  the  comb.  In  the  absence 
of  scissors  the  wing  can  be  taken  off  with  the  blade  of  a  sharp  pocket 


Entrance  guard.    (After  A.  I. 
Root  Co. 


Fig.  24.    Alley  queen  and  drone  trap.  (After 
A.I.  Root  Co.) 


knife,  by  so  holding  the  queen  that  the  wing  to  be  clipped  lies  flat  and 
even  upon  some  wooden  surface,  as  upon  the  top  of  the  hive,  and  the 
blade  of  the  knife  pressed  down  upon  it.  When  a  swarm  emerges  from 
a  colony  having  a  clipped  queen,  the  queen  will,  of  course,  attempt  to 
follow,  but  being  unable  to  fly  will  fall  in  front  of  the  entrance  or  near 
it,  where  she  can  be  readily  picked  up  by  the  apiarist.  The  swarm  may 
remain  flying  in  the  air  for  some  time,  usually  long  enough  for  the 
apiarist  to  remove  the  old  hive  and  substitute  a  new  one  in  its  place. 
The  swarm  finding  its  queen  missing  will  return  to  the  old  stand  and 
enter  the  new  hive  placed  to  receive  it.  While  the  swarm  i«  entering, 
the  old  queen  is  released  and  allowed  to  enter  with  them.  The  old  hiv 
containing  its  brood,  swarm  and  young  queen  or  queen  cell  is  placed  on 
a  new  stand.  The  device  shown  in  Fig.  24,  known  as  the  Alley  drone 
and  queen  trap,  is  used  in  much  the  same  way.  As  will  be  noticed  from 
the  figure,  this  trap  exactly  fits  over  the  entrance  to  a  hive,  and  no  bees 
can  enter  or  leave  without  passing  through  the  oblong  openings  in  the 
perforated  zinc  of  which  the  trap  is  made.  These  openings  are  of  such 
a  size  that  workers  may  pass  through  readily  but  neither  drones  nor 


46  A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY. 

queens  can  pass  at  all.  Above  the  lower  part  of  the  trap  is  a  separate 
compartment,  having  openings  leading  into  it  from  below,  large  enough 
to  admit  queen  or  drones,  and  covered  with  a  cone  of  wire  netting.  The 
queen,  in  attempting  to  escape  from  the  hive  with  the  emerging  swarm, 
finding  herself  unable  to  pass  through  the  smaller  openings,  passes  into 
the  upper  compartment  and  is  trapped.  The  trap  and  all  can  now  be 
removed  by  the  apiarist,  The  old  hive  is  removed  and  a  new  located 
in  its  place  AS  before,  and  when  the  swarm  returns  the  queen  is  released 
from  the  trap  and  allowed  to  enter  with  them.  This  same  device  is  also 
used  for  catching  the  drones  from  a  colony  where  they  are  no  longer 
needed  for  fertilizing  queens,  or  where  the  drones  come  of  stock  which 
we  do  not  wish  to  mate  with  select  queens.  The  entrance  guard,  shown 
in  Fig.  25,  is  used  in  a  similar  way,  except  that  it  will  not  trap  either 
drones  or  queens,  although  it  will  prevent  them  leaving  the  hive.  This 
is  especially  useful  to  prevent  the  flying  of  drones  from  undesirable  col- 
onies when  the  mating  of  young  queens  is  in  process. 

In  former  years  "artificial  swarming,"  or  "division,"  was  frequently 
resorted  to  as  a  method  of  increase.  Except  in  the  hands  of  an  expe- 
rienced manager,  and  where  rapid  increase  is  the  only  thing  desired,  this 
should  not  be  undertaken.  Among  experienced  bee  keepers  it  is  not  now 
generally  practiced. 

QUEEN    REARING. 

Queen  rearing  is  a  highly  specialized  branch  of  the  industry,  and  in 
a  bulletin  like  the  present  it  is  not  deemed  advisable  to  give  the  methods 
in  use.  The  average  bee  keeper  should  know,  however,  what  to  do  in  case 
any  of  his  colonies  become  queenless,  through  careless  handling,  acci- 
dent, or  otherwise.  When  a  colony  becomes  queenless  and  there  are 
any  eggs  or  very  young  larvae  in  the  hive  they  will  rear  a  queen  them- 
selves without  further  intervention.  If,  however,  they  are  "hopelessly 
queenless,"  that  is,  have  neither  brood,  eggs  nor  queen,  they  can  be  given 
a  frame  of  young  brood  from  another  colony,  when  they  will  proceed 
as  before  to  rear  a  queen.  In  preference  to  the  above,  the  bee  keeper 
may  also  purchase  a  queen  from  some  of  the  queen  breeders  who  make 
a  specialty  of  rearing  them.  Under  present  conditions,  and  considering 
the  cheapness  of  queens,  it  will  not  pay  the  amateur  bee  keeper  to  rear 
queens  of  his  own.  They  can  be  purchased  at  about  the  following  prices: 
untested,  $0.65  to  $1.00;  tested,  $0.85  to  $1.50,  according  to  the  season 
of  the  year.  An  "untested"  queen  is  one  which  has  been  fertilized 
and  has  already  deposited  eggs,  but  which  has  not  been  kept  sufficiently 
long  to  see  that  her  bees,  when  matured,  prove  that  she  was  mated  to  a 
drone  of  fhe  same  race  as  herself.  A  "tested"  queen  is  one  that  is  not 
only  known  to  be  mated,  but  is  positively  known  to  be  purely  mated; 
that  is,  to  a  drone  of  her  own  race.  To  distinguish  these  from  a  queen 
that  has  not  been  mated,  the  latter  is  designated  as  a  "virgin  queen." 
The  bee  keeper  who  wishes  to  study  queen  rearing  in  detail,  with  a  view 
to  rearing  his  own  queens,  should  consult  some  of  the  text-hooks  upon 
bee  culture,  all  of  which  discuss  queen  rearing  methods,  and  one  in  par- 
ticular— "Scientific  Queen  Bearing,"  by  G.  M.  Doolittle — is  devoted 
entirely  to  the  subject.  That  the  bee  keeper  may  know  where  first-clas^ 
queens  may  be  obtained,  we  append  herewith  a  list  of  those  queen  breed- 


A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY.  47 

ers  in  Texas  whose  stock  we  have  found  to  be  fully  as  represented  and 
to  be  commended  for  its  purity:  W.  0.  Victor,  Wharton;  Hyde  Beo 
Co.,  Floresville;  W.  H.  Laws,  Beeville;  G.  F.  Davidson  &  Sons,  Flores- 
ville. 

By  consulting  the  advertisements  in  the  various  bee  journals,  the 
beginner  will  find  the  addresses  of  queen  breeders  throughout  the  coun- 
try, together  with  the  races  and  strains  of  which  they  make  a  specialty. 
Except  in  rare  cases  queen  breeders  are  found  reliable.  The  fact  that 
the  continuance  of  their  business  depends  entirely  upon  the  purity  of 
the  queens  they  ship,  as  well  as  that  fortunately  none  of  the  bee  journals 
will  knowingly  accept  an  advertisement  from  a  suspicious  party,  makes 
it  impossible  for  a  fraudulent  queen  breeder  to  remain  long  before  the 
people.  The  fact  that  queen  breeding  Bunder  present  conditions  is  not 
an  immensely  profitable  occupation  offers  little  inducement  to  the  swind- 
ler. 

ENEMIES. 

Foul  Brood. — Fortunately,  in  Texas,  very  little  trouble  has  been  had 
with  diseases  of  bees.  Kecently,  however,  a  number  of  very  severe  cases 
of  foul  brood  have  made  their  appearance  at  different  points.  Foul 
brood  is  characterized  by  the  death  of  the  larvae  before  reaching  matur- 
ity, and  their  decay  within  the  cells.  Shortly  after  death  the  larvae  turn 
dark-brown  in  color,  and  if  a  toothpick  or  other  sharp-pointed  object 
be  inserted  into  the  body  of  a  dead  larva,  twisted  about,  and  slowly  with- 
drawn, the  mass  will  be  seen  to  assume  a  stringy  or  ropy  nature.  This 
"ropiness"  is  a  diagnostic  character  of  the  disease,  as  is  also  the  foul 
odor  affecting  a  hive  thus  infected.  The  bees  are  evidently  unwilling  or 
unable  to  remove  the  decayed  remains  of  the  larvae,  and  these  after  a 
time  become  dry  and  present  the  appearance  of  small  bits  of  a  coffee- 
colored  substance  in  the  bottoms  of  the  cells.  Upon  the  death  and  decay 
of  sealed  larvae,  the  cappings  become  sunken  and  frequently  perforated 
with  one  or  more  openings  in  each  cap.  This  appearance,  while  charac- 
teristic, is  not  a  certain  indication  of  the  disease.  The  test  of  ^ropi- 
ness" should  be  relied  upon  as  the  main  evidence,  with  sunken  caps, 
perforated  caps,  and  the  foud  odor  as  secondary  and  confirmatory  charac- 
ters. 

Foul  brood  was  first  carefully  investigated  by  Watson-Cheyne  and 
Cheshire  in  London,  England.  They  found  the  disease  to  be  caused  by 
a  specific  germ  to  which  they  gave  the  name  Bacillus  alvei.  These  germs 
obtain  access  to  the  larva?  or  food  media  by  which  they  are  surrounded 
and  there  multiply  with  enormous  rapidity.  It  appears  evident  that 
they  attack  directly  the  tissues  of  the  larvae,  as  in  all  diseased  larvae, 
dead  and  decayed  larvae,  and  in  the  dried-up  masses  resulting,  the  Bacil- 
lus alvei  is  found.  In  honey  which  has  been  stored  by  the  bees  in  cells 
containing  the  dried-up  masses,  the  germs  are  found  also,  and  perhaps 
to  a  greater  or  lesser  extent  in  all  unsealed  honey  in  the  hive,  as  well  as 
any  honey  sealed  after  the  disease  enterd  the  colony.  Upon  the  approach 
of  unfavorable  conditions  or  lack  of  food  supply,  the  germs  assume  the 
spore  or  resting  stage,  in  which  they  take  no  nutriment,  do  not  increase 
in  numbers,  and  show  a  marked  resistance  to  heat,  extreme  cold,  and 
chemicals  and  disinfectants  of  all  kinds. 


48  A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY. 

Dr.  Win.  R.  Howard,  of  Fort  Worth,  Texas,  carefully  investigated  the 
pathological  nature  of  foul  brood,  and  in  1894  his  results  were  published 
in  a  pamphlet  entitled  "Foul  Brood,"  by  Geo.  W.  York  &  Co.,  of  Chi- 
cago, 111.  In  his  investigations,  Dr.  Howard  found  that  when  Bacillus 
alvei  or  its  spores  were  excluded  from  oxygen  or  air  they  would  retain 
their  vitality  indefinitely.  He  also  found  that  direct  exposure  to  air  for 
48  hours  or  more  would  destroy  the  spores.  It  does  not  follow  from 
this,  however,  that  exposure  of  infected  hives,  frames,  etc.,  to  the  air, 
would  result  in  killing  all  spores.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  these 
spores  are  infinitely  small  and  that  the  wax,  propolis,  and  other  matter 
adhering  to  the  hive  is  sufficient  to  protect  these  spores  from  the  air, 
and  thus  their  vitality — and  ability  to  reproduce  the  disease — may  be 
retained  for  a  long  time.  It  is  evident,  then,  that  the  exposure  of  such 
infected  hives,  appliances,  etc.,  to  the  air  with  a  view  to  disinfecting 
them,  is  not  to  be  recommended  and  must  be  dismissed  as  impracticable. 
Dr.  Howard  found  also  that  boiling  for  45  minutes,  or  exposure  to  a 
temperature  of  nearly  212°  F.  did  not  always  kill  the  spores.  An  hour 
or  more  of  boiling  was  sufficient  to  destroy  them.  It  therefore  follows 
that  boiling  for  more  than  an  hour,  an}^  appliance  or  hive,  care  being 
taken  that  it  is  entirely  submerged  beneath  the  boiling  water,  should 
thoroughly  rid  it  of  all  germs  and  spores. 

Honey  could  be  disinfected  in  this  way,  but  is  open  to  the  objection 
that  boiling  of  honey  would  doubtless  impair  its  flavor.  The  certain 
and  invincible  remedy  for  foul  brood  is  the  killing  and  burning  of  all 
infected  colonies,  together  with  the  burning  or  thorough  disinfection  of 
all  infected  appliances.  In  case  there  are  but  a  few  colonies  in  a  locality 
where  bees  are  abundant,  no  other  remedy  should  be  attempted. 

Mr.  Wm.  MoEvoy,  of  Woodburn,  Ontario,  Canada,  has  used  exten- 
sively what  is  termed  the  M'Voy  or  "starvation"  treatment.  This  has 
been  found  successful — according  to  published  reports — by  many  bee 
keepers,  and  we  quote  from  Mr.  McEvoy  ("A,  B,  C  of  Bee  Culture,"  p. 
153)  as  follows: 

"In  the  honey  season,  when  the  bees  are  gathering  freely,  remove  the 
combs  in  the  evening  and  shake  the  bees  into  their  own  hive;  give  them 
frames  with  foundation  starters  on  and  let  them  build  comb  for  four 
days.  The  bees  will  make  the  starters  into  comb  during  the  four  days, 
and  store  the  diseased  honey  in  them,  which  they  took  from  the  old 
comb.  Then  in  the  evening  of  the  fourth  day  take  out  the  new  combs 
and  give  them  comb  foundation  to  work  out,  and  then  the  cure  will  be 
complete."  Personally,  we  have  not  had  the  opportunity  of  testing  this 
treatment,  hence  refrain  from  comments  concerning  it. 

Upon  the  resistance  of  the  spores,  upon  many  of  the  pathological 
characters  of  the  disease,  the  manner  of  spread,  and  upon  many  other 
points,  authorities  disagree.  Many  points,  essential  to  the  successful 
control  of  this  disease,  are  unknown,  and  there  is  a  great  need  for  care- 
ful scientific  investigation  of  this  dreaded  scourge. 

The  United  States  census  for  1900  (U.  S.  Census  Bulletin,  No.  229) 
gives  the  total  number  of  colonies  in  Texas  for  that  year  as  392,644. 
Estimated  at  $3.50  per  colony,  their  value  is  seen  to  be  $1,374,254.  The 
amount  invested  in  honey-houses  and  other  apparatus  connected  with 
bee  keeping,  exclusive  of  hives,  will  doubtless  approximate  5  per  cent, 
of  this  amount,  or  $68,712  more.  The  State  Bee  Keepers'  Statistics, 


A.  AND  M.   COLLEGE  APIARY.  49 

as  compiled  by  Prof.  F.  W.  Mally,  show  that  in  1900,  150,000  colonies 
under  Texas  conditions  produced  11,250,000  pounds  of  honey  or  an 
average  of  75  pounds  each.  For  all  the  colonies  in  the  State,  this  would 
without  doubt  be  too  high  an  average.  Thirty  pounds  per  colony  would 
seem  a  conservative  estimate.  This  makes  the  production  of  the  392,644: 
colonies  11,779,320  pounds,  which,  at  an  average  price  of  6  cents' per 
pound,  aggregates  $706,759.20.  Also,  about  $3,500  worth  of  queens  are 
annually  raised  and  shipped  from  Texas.  No  estimate  of  the  wax  pro- 
duced, or  colonies  shipped  from  Texas,  is  given,  but  these  obviously 
amount  to  considerable.  Summing  up,  we  have  the  total  capital 
invested,  and  annual  output  of  the  bee-keeping  industry  in  Texas : 

Bees    - .  . , $1,374,254  00 

Appliances   68,712  00 

Honey 706,759  20 

Queens 3j50o  00 

Total .$2,153,225  20 

These  figures  serve  to  show  the  importance  of  the  industry,  which  has 
been  rapidly  developing  within  the  past  few  years,  and  great  develop- 
ments are  possible,  and  probable,  in  the  future.  However,  foul'  brood 
has  broken  out  at  three  different  points,  widely  separated,  and  at  present 
this  disease  threatens  the  greater  part  of  the  honey  producing  territory 
of  the  State.  There  is  no  doubt  that  its  presence  will  tend  to  restrain 
further  outlay  of  capital,  and  the  immigration  of  bee  keepers  from  the 
older  States.  To  eradicate  foul  brood  will,  owing  to  its  contagious 
nature,  and  marked  resistance  to  remedies,  require  suitable  legislation. 
Its  eradication  is  possible  under  efficient  management  of  capable  officials, 
who  are  invested  with  proper  authority.  Popular  education  alone  can- 
not establish  even  a  doubtful  control  of  the  disease. 

Other  Diseases. — Black  brood  closely  resembles  foul  brood  in  some 
respects,  but  may  be  distinguished  from  the  latter  by  the  fact  that  black 
brood  is  not  nearly  so  "ropy,"  and  has  not  the  odor  characteristic  of  foul 
brood.  Black  brood  and  pickled  brood  are  not  of  sufficient  occurrence 
in  the  State  to  warrant  discussion  here. 

Bee  Paralysis  is  of  occasional  occurrence,  and  slight  attacks  have  been 
reported  by  a  few  bee  keepers.  Xo  case  has  yet  come  to  our  notice,  how- 
ever, in  which  the  damage  has  been  of  a  serious  nature.  Bees  affected  by 
the  disease  are  characterized  by  swollen  and  darkened  abdomens,  and 
according  to  Mr.  A.  I.  Eoot,  of  a  trembling  and  nervous  nature,  with 
inability  to  maintain  full  control  of  their  muscles,  ultimately  dying. 
Though  supposed  to  be  of  bacterial  origin,  little  is  known  regarding  the 
disease,  and  upon  the  foregoing  supposition  a  strict  isolation  of  all  col- 
onies affected  should  be  practiced.  According  to  Mr.  A.  I.  Root,  also, 
removing  the  queen  from  the  infected  colony  and  substituting  one  from 
healthy  stock  has  at  times  proven  successful.  Moving  the  infected  colony 
onto  a  stand  occupied  by  a  healthy  colony,  and  in  turn  placing  the  healthy 
colony  on  the  stand  occupied  by  the  infected  one,  is  also  recommended. 

Ants. — Ants  of  various  kinds,  and  especially  of  the  smaller  species, 
sometimes  attack  the  hives  with  a  view  to  carrying  off  the  honey  and 
sometimes  even  build  their  own  nests  in  the  combs  of  weak  colonies. 


50  A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY. 

Strong  colonies  invariably  protect  themselves  from  the  first  attack,  but 
at  times  assistance  \  must  be  given  the  bees.  Where  this  is  necessary  the 
hive  should  be  protected  from  them.  This  may  be  done  by  placing  the 
hive  on  a  bench  or  stand,  the  legs  of  which  have  been  treated  with  tar, 
machine  oil,  or  with  crude  petroleum  (the  latter  popularly  known  as 
Beaumont  oil).  If  the  hive-stand  shown  in  Fig.  10  is  used,  it  can  be 
raised  slightly  from  the  ground  and  a  couple  of  pieces  of  2x4  inserted 
beneath  it  crossways.  At  the  points  of  contact  of  the  stand  with  the 
cross-pieces  a  small  amount  of  tar  or  oil  should  be  placed  to  prevent  the 
ants  passing  these,  the  only  accessible  points,  into  the  hive.  The  pro- 
gressive bee  keeper  will,  of  course,  see  to  it  that  weeds  and  grass  are 
not  allowed  to  grow  close  enough  to  the  hives  to  afford  passage  ways  for 
the  ants. 

Oilier  Insects. — By  far  the  "most  destructive  enemy  of  bees  in  Texas 
is  the  wax-moth,  of  which  there  are  evidently  at  least  two  species.  In 
habits,  however,  they  are  essentially  alike.  The  eggs  are  deposited  by 
the  adult  moth  in  empty  combs,  stored  honey,  bits  of  wax,  and  in  the 
case  of  weak  colonies  very  frequently  in  the  hive  itself.  Especially  is 
the  latter  true  in  the  case  of  box  hives.  The  egg  hatches  to  a  cylindri- 
cal, grayish-white  larva,  which  feeds  upon  the  comb  and  wax,  usually 
making  a  webbed  passage  along  its  path  of  feeding.  Especially  are  they 
liable  »to  attack  stored  combs  and  baits,  unless  these  be  placed  in  practi- 
cally air  tight  receptacles.  Even  then  they  should  be  examined  from 
time  to  time  to  detect  the  first  possible  attack  of  the  moth  larvae.  In 
stored  comb  the  larvae  can  be  killed  by  fumigation  with  carbon  bi-sul- 
phide  ("high-life").  Supers  or  hive  bodies  containing  the  combs  to  be 
treated  are  piled  one  above  another,  being  made  as  nearly  air-tight  as 
possible.  Indeed,  for  complete  success  with  this  method  all  cracks  and 
crevices  must  be  thoroughly  closed.  A  saucer  containing  a  few  table- 
spoonfuls  of  the  bi-sulphide  is  now  placed  on  top  of  the  highest  row  of 
frames  and  the  entire  closed  over  with  a  heavy  blanket,  and  allowed  to 
remain  for  several  hours.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  carbon 
bi-sulphide  is  highly  inflammable,  and  under  some  conditions  explosive, 
hence  care  must  be  taken  in  its  use  and  handling  to  avoid  proximity  to 
fire  of  any  kind,  lighted  lamps,  lanterns,  pipes,  stoves,  etc.  A  better 
plan  during  summer,  when  combs  are  found  to  be  infested  is  to  place 
them  over  a  strong  colony  of  bees,  and  the  latter  will  make  quick  work 
of  the  moth  larvae.  In  short,  this  is  the  best  place  to  keep  such  combs, 
supers,  etc.,  at  all  times.  Strong  colonies,  in  good  frame  hives,  are 
rarely  if  ever  attacked  by  the  wax-moth.  The  intelligent  and  progressive 
bee  keeper  who  uses  up-to-date  methods  has  nothing  to  fear  from  this 
pest.  The  destructiveness  of  this  pest  is  mentioned  in  the  introduction 
to  this  bulletin  on  a  previous  page,  which  see. 

A  large  species  of  robber  fly  of  the  genus  Erax  sometimes  attacks  and 
carries  off  individual  bees.  As  a  usual  thing,  these  are  not  abundant 
enough  to  do  great  damage. 

Birds  and  Other  Enemies. — Very  rarely  an  individual  bird,  especially 
the  bird  known  as  kingbird  or  bee-martin,  will  capture  the  bees  as  they 
fly  to  and  from  the  hive.  This  habit  is  not  a  universal  one  with  any 
bird,  and  is  only  developed  by  the  individuals.  Where  the  offender  per- 
sists in  his  attacks,  a  shotgun  is  the  best  remedy,  but  in  no  case  should 
warfare  be  made  upon  the  birds  as  a  whole,  or  even  upon  the  kingbirds 


A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY.  51 

as  a  rule,  to  atone  for  the  offenses  of  a  single  individual.  The  kingbird 
is  pre-eminently,  as  are  to  a  great  degree  all  of  our  song  birds,  insec- 
tivorous, that  is,  its  main  diet  is  made  up  of  worms,  larvae  and  insects 
The  good  that  birds  of  any  species— barring,  possibly,  the  turkey  buz- 
zard—do to  the  farmer,  planter  and  fruit  grower  far  more  than  offsets 
the  occasional  damage.  Their  protection  and  preservation  is,  therefore, 
to  the  utmost  interest  and  welfare  of  the  farmer  and  fruit  grower  as 
well  as  to  the  State  at  large. 

Spiders,  especially  of  the  larger  kinds,  will,  if  allowed,  make  their 
webs  near  or  upon  the  hives  and  destroy  bees.  The  only  remedy  here 
is  a  constant  warfare  against  them,  killing  whenever  possible,  leaving  no 
cracks  or  crevices  for  their  protection,  and  persistently  removing  all  webs 
at  fast  as  they  appear. 


N 


Fig.  26.— Japanese  buckwheat       (After   Root,  A 
B  C  of  Bee  Culture  ) 


HONEY  PLANTS. 


It  is  of  immense  advantage  to  the  bee  keeper  to  carefully  study  the 
native  honey-yielding  plants  of  his  locality,  to  make  careful' notes  upon 
their  blooming  periods,  the  relation  of  the  season  to  their  blooming,  etc. 
This  will  enable  the  intelligent  bee  keeper  to  approximately  forecast  the 
honey  flow,  thus  enabling  him  to  be  fully  prepared  for  it  and  to  get  the 
greatest  returns  possible.  It  will  also  enable  him  to  forecast  with  rea- 
sonable probability  the  approach  of  a  scarcity  or  dearth  of  honey.  By 
the  latter  he  will  be  enabled  to  have  all  colonies  strong,  and  especially 
will  he  have  them  supplied  with  sufficient  stores. 

As  stated  under  the  head  of  "Honey  Flow/'  the  essential  feature  of 
successful  surplus  production  is  to  have  a  strong  force  of  bees  present 
in  the  hive  at  the  beginning  of  the  honey  flow.  In  order  that  this  con- 


52  A.  AND  M.  COLLEGE  APIARY. 

dition  may  prevail  it  is  essential — and  advisable  from  many  other  stand- 
points— that  the  force  of  bees  in  each  colony  should  be  kept  as  strong 
as  possible  throughout  the  entire  year.  This  can,  to  a  certain  extent, 
be  accomplished  by  cultivated  honey  plants.  Among  the  most  useful 
of  these  is  Japanese  buckwheat,  shown  in  Fig.  26,  and  which  is  dis- 
cussed at  length  in  the  "Report  on  the  Experimental  Apiary,"  in  the 
first  pages  of  this  bulletin. 

The  bee  keeper  owning  his  own  farm  will  find  it  very  profitable  to 
cultivate  cowpeas  as  one  of  his  staple  crops.  Aside  from  the  fact  that 
this  plant  yields  an  abundance  of  forage  even  under  ordinarily  unfavor- 
able conditions  of  drouth,  it  is  a  valuable  soil  renovator,  and  will  yield 
honey  continuously — sufficient  to  maintain  brood  rearing,  and  to  equal 
the  consumption  of  the  colonies,  long  after  the  native  honey  plants  have 
ceased  to  yield  honey. 

EDUCATION. 

The  bee  keeper  should  at  all  times  keep  himself  thoroughly  posted 
along  bee  keeping  lines.  As  this  industry  is  comparatively  in  its  infancy, 
rapid  strides  are  being  made  in  its  development.  Aside  from  keeping 
abreast  of  the  times,  the  bee  keeper  can  also  by  judicious  study  learn 
much  of  the  industry,  methods  of  manipulation,  management,  etc.,  and 
will  furthermore  find  such  study  and  reading  extremely  pleasant  and 
fascinating.  This  may  be  acomplished  in  five  ways,  any  or  all  of  which 
should  be  taken  up. 

1.  Upon   bee   culture,   there   are   a   number   of   reliable   text-books, 
adapted  to  the  beginner  in  about  the  order  named:     Root,  A.  I.,  "A,  B 
C  of  Bee  Culture" ;  Maeterlinck,  "The  Life  of  the  Bee" ;  Cook,  "Manual 
of  the  Apiary";  Dadant,  "Langstroth  on  the  Honey  Bee";   Cheshire, 
"Anatomy,  Physiology  and  Floral  Eelations  of  the  Hive  Bee";  Morley, 
"The  Honey  Makers" ;  Eoot,  L.  C.,  "Quinby's  New  Bee  Keeping" ;  and 
Doolittle,-  "Scientific    Queen   Rearing."     These   books    can    be    secured 
through  any  of  the  dealers  or  manufacturers  of  bee  supplies. 

2.  The   following  bee  journals,  which  have  thus  far  come  to  this 
department,  are  worthy  of  commendation.     The  names  and  places  of 
publication  are  here  given :     Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture,  Medina,  Ohio ; 
Rocky  Mountain  Bee  Journal,  Boulder,  Colo. ;  American  Bee  Journal, 
Chicago,    111. ;    Bee    Keepers'    Review,    Flint,    Mich. ;    American    Bee 
Keeper,  Fort  Pierce,  Fla. ;  Progressive  Bee  Keeper,  Higginsville,  Mo. ; 
Canadian  Bee  Journal,  Brantford,  Canada. 

3.  Membership  in  the  National  and  State  Bee  Keepers'  Associations. 
As  holds  true  with  all  lines  of  industry  and  business,  many  mutual 
advantages  are  to  be  had  by  co-operation  and  unity  of  purpose.     In  the 
case  of  the  Texas  bee  keepers,  this  is  accomplished  in  the  Texas  Bee 
Keepers'  Association,  of  which  any  bee  keeper  can  become  a  member. 
Aside  from  representing  the  importance  of  the  industry  as  a  whole,  the 
Association  holds  annual  meetings,  which  are  exceedingly  instructive  and 
are  productive  of  much   practical  education  to  the  bee  keeper.     The 
marked  rapidity  of  advancement  in  the  case  of  this  industry  makes  it 
necessary  for  the  bee  keeper  who  would  be  at  the  front  to  keep  in  touch 
with  the  progress  made  by  fellow  workers  along  the  same  line.     The 
National  Bee  Keepers'  Association  has  for  its  objects  the  protection  of 


A.    AND    M.    COLLEGK   APIARY.  53 

bee  keepers  and  their  interests  in  every  part  of  the  United  States,  regard- 
leas  of  whether  the  bee  keeper  be  poor  or  rich.  One  of  the  main  objects 
of  the  National  Association  is  to  prevent  the  adulteration  of  honey  and 
to  promptly  prosecute  all  offenders.  It  also  looks  after  the  individual 
rights  of  its  members  in  their  relations  to  other  industries.,  and  protects 
them  when  unjustly  attacked  or  prosecuted,  and  in  every  possible  way 
forwards  the  interests  of  the  industry.  As  a  membership  in  the  State 
Association  also  includes  membership  in  the  National  Association, 
besides  many  other  advantages,  it  will  be  seen  that  this  should  not  be 
neglected.  Further  particulars  regarding  these  associations  can  be  had 
by  addressing  the  Secretary  of  the  Texas  Bee  Keepers'  Association,  at 
present  Mr.  Louis  H.  Seholl,  of  Hunter,  Texas. 

4.  Where  special  problems  arise,  or  where  specific  information  upon 
any  phase  is  desired,  as  well  as  information  on  honey  plants,  the  Depart- 
ment of  Entomology  of  the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College,  at 
College   Station,   Texas,   is   prepared  to  give   information  and  answer 
questions  of  this  kind.     All  such  services  are,  of  course,  rendered  with- 
out charge.  , 

5.  At  the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  instruction  in  Bee 
Culture   is  given  to   students  in  the  Agricultural,   Horticultural   and 
Science  courses  of  study.    In  addition  to  this,  a  person  desiring  to  enter 
the  College  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  special  study  of  bee  keeping  is 
permitted  to  do  so.    Every  necessary  equipment  and  instructors  are  pro- 
vided therefor.     Arrangements  for  such  a  course  can  be  made  by  corre- 
spondence with  the  Department  of  Entomology,  College  Station,  Texas. 

SUPPLIES. 

The  beginner  in  bee  keeping  will  desire  information  as  to  where  to 
secure  supplies,  etc.  By  consulting  any  of  the  bee  journals,  advertise- 
ments of  manufacturers  and  dealers  in  such  supplies  will  be  found. 
Catalogues  from  a  few  leading  firms  of  this  kind  should  be  secured,, 
which,  aside  from  their  quotations,  usually  contain  much  of  an  instruc- 
tive nature,  the  study  of  which  will  be  profitable  to  the  bee  keeper.  Of 
firms  in  Texas,  we  may  mention  the  A.  I.  Boot  Co.,  having  a  branch 
supply  house  at  San  Antonio,  and  agents  at  various  points  over  the 
State;  J.  K.  Hill  &  Co.,  of  Uvalde,  carry  a  very  complete  line  of  sup- 
plies ;  while  W.  E,  Graham  &  Son,  Greenville,  and  W.  H.  White,  Blos- 
som, Texas,  are  manufacturers  of  hives  and  other  supplies. 


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